With the mid-week fixture close at hand, the Nerazzurri will strive to extend their winning streak after their latest home wins against Raków and Cagliari. On Wednesday, Atalanta will be off to Verona for the outing against Hellas – the team coached by Marco Baroni are still unbeaten at the Bentegodi stadium.
How long is our current streak of unbeaten games at the Bentegodi stadium against Hellas?
Teun Koopmeiners’ left-footed strike earned Atalanta three points in Verona last season as the Nerazzurri claimed a narrow victory in August 2022. The Dutch midfielder seems to have a good relationship with the ‘Bentegodi’, as he had also scored the decider in the previous encounter, dating back to December 2021: Koopmeiners made it 2-1 after Simeone had given the hosts the lead and Miranchuk had levelled the match. In the 2020/21 season, Malinovskyi and Zapata sealed the 2-0 victory and it was the Colombian striker who had opened the scoring in the previous season’s 1-1 draw. Going further back, Josip Iličić’s showpiece in the 2017/18 season secured a 5-0 victory for Atalanta, as he netted a hat-trick following Cristante’s opener and Gomez’s goal completing the scoring. Since the last away defeat against Hellas Verona came in the 2016/17 season, we are unbeaten in five away matches against Verona.
Which was the outcome of the last match-up played on a Wednesday?
Unlike our next trivia, to find the latest midweek match-up between Hellas Verona and Atalanta played on a Wednesday, no such thing as riding a DeLorean would be needed: on that day Atalanta defeated Hellas Verona 3-0 in Bergamo, with all goals scored in the second half. After Remo Freuler opened the scoring in the 50th minute assisted by Gomez, Josip Iličić doubled the lead on 59 minutes with a strike into the top corner. Finishing it off was Jasmin Kurtic with his trademark goal, as he burst into the box to meet Gosens’ cross and beat Nicolas. It was the 25th of October 2017.
Before our win back in 2018, when did our previous victory in Verona occur?
The 0-5 walkover clinched during the 2017/18 season was a literal turning point for the Nerazzurri, as it put an end to a long draught at the Bentegodi stadium, littered with a streak of negative outcomes. Prior to that fateful game, Atalanta’s last victory dated back to 2006, the year when both teams were playing in the Serie B: the match saw the Nerazzurri defeat the Mastiffs 0-1, courtesy of Andrea Lazzari’s goal in the 45th minute. At the end of the season, Atalanta got promoted to the Serie A.
