For the third seasonal match-up against Milan, Atalanta will be off to the Meazza stadium for the second time this year: while the Nerazzurri approach the game after defeating Sassuolo 3-0 at home, the Rossoneri will build up on the Monza setback.
When did Muriel score in the reverse fixture?
Off to a great start, Atalanta got Milan on the ropes creating plenty of chances. It was Lookman who eventually broke the stalemate on 38 minutes: after gathering from the left flank and cutting back, Mola dribbled his way past an opponent before loosening a shot from the edge. Also thanks to a deflection, the winger’s drive flied past Maignan and gave Atalanta the lead. On the threshold of half-time, Giroud levelled the playing field with a header. Stepping up their game and racking up chances in the second half, Atalanta got back on top with Lookman, who converted De Ketelaere’s key pass at the end of a mint choral play. It then fell on Maignan to deny Lookman the third of the night with a miraculous save. Milan pulled one back again with Jovic on 85 minutes. Despite being already set towards a draw, it was Miranchuk who rewrote the script with a retrieval on the offensive third: in the follow-up, Koopmeiners gave it back to Miranchuk who found the opening to serve Muriel a trivela pass. After gathering, the Cafetero controlled it with his sole before vanquishing Maignan with an already iconic back-heel finish.
Which current player has the highest scoring tally against Milan?
As for Teun Koopmeiners, the Dutchman has scored two goals, namely the brace scored in the recent Coppa Italia quarter-finals tie which punched our tickets to the semis in January, against Milan so far in his career. Likewise, Ademola Lookman has also scored a brace against Milan, more precisely in the reverse fixture, having bagged the goals that broke both stalemates – opening the scoring and giving Atalanta the temporary 2-1 lead to break the impasse after Milan’s equaliser before halftime, before Muriel sealed the match with his back-heel wonder. Lastly, having administered the “ex’s law” twice, both times at the Gewiss Stadium, also Mario Pašalić’s tally stands at two: while the latter came in the 2-3 loss suffered back in October ’21, the former dates back to the 5-0 walkover of December 2019.
It will be the third seasonal encounter between Atalanta and Milan: when did it last happen?
The last time Atalanta and Milan crossed paths for more than the two customary league fixtures dates back to the 2000/2001 season, when the two teams last faced off also in the Coppa Italia. Given that, back in the day, the quarterfinals foresaw a reverse and return fixture, the encounters between the two sides during the aforementioned season amounted to 4. The 1st encounter was played at the Meazza stadium and culminated in an enthralling 3-3 draw: while Atalanta took the lead with Doni, Serginho equalised before Doni and Rossini broke the deadlock and doubled the Nerazzurri’s lead. In the end Bierhoff and Shevchenko restored the stalemate. Moving on to the Coppa Italia double-header, while Milan won the 1st-leg 4-2 at the Meazza –with Atalanta taking the lead twice through Ganz and Nappi, with Leonardo’s equaliser in between, before the Rossoneri turned the match around with José Mari, again Leonardo and Shevchenko- Atalanta claimed a 2-1 win in the second leg courtesy of Nappi and Doni, with Boban being Milan’s scorer for the match instead. Coming full circle, the last matchup of that particular season resulted again in a draw, this time with the final outcome of 1-1, in Bergamo: after Milan took the lead with a Lorenzi own goal, Ganz levelled the score.
