Matchday 23 of the 2022-2023 Serie A TIM saw the visitors win 2-1 at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo thanks to goals from Ceesay and Blin, while the consolation goal for Atalanta was scored by Højlund.
Before the kick-off, the club wholeheartedly remembered Federico Pisani and Alessandra Pisani – the 12th of February marked the 26th anniversary of their passing – and Gian Piero Gasperini received an award for his 250th Serie A match with Atalanta, which occurred in the latest round of the league.
The match proved a tough one, as the visitors took an early lead with a long-range finish from Ceesay on 4 minutes. Højlund couldn’t get on the end of a Boga cross in the 14th minute, then Falcone’s gloves were stung by Lookman on 21 minutes and then by Mæhle in the 33rd minute.
In the second half, the Nerazzurri pushed hard in search of an equalizer: Éderson had a go on 49 minutes, with his snapshot inches over, then Soppy burst into the box and forced a save off Falcone in the 70th minute. Lecce doubled their lead four minutes later with a Blin header from a corner. Coach Gasperini also threw Vorlický on for his Atalanta debut. Toloi was inches away from pulling one back on 77 minutes as his effort was inches wide, but Højlund did shorten the gap ten minutes later, as he made the most of Falcone’s poor clearance and deflected it into the net. Vorlický also had a chance right away, as his right-foot curler was smothered by Falcone. In the 94th minute, Falcone had to stick one hand up to palm Muriel’s ferocious strike out from under the bar, handing over Lecce the three points.
Now it is time to turn over a new lead: the team will be back to the Centro Bortolotti in Zingonia on Tuesday 23 February, with an afternoon training session to be held behind closed doors.
ATALANTA 1-2 LECCE
Scorers: Ceesay 4 (L), Blin (L), Højlund 87 (A).
Atalanta: Musso, Toloi, Demiral (Palomino 75), Djimsiti, Zappacosta (Soppy 46), Éderson (Vorlický 75), Koopmeiners, Mæhle, Lookman, Højlund, Boga (Muriel 68). Unused bench: Rossi, Sportiello, Okoli, Ruggeri, Muhameti. Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini.
Lecce: Falcone, Gendrey, Baschirotto, Tuia (Ceccaroni 68), Gallo, Blin, Hjulmand, Maleh (Askildsen 72), Banda (Strettezza 67), Ceesay (Colombo 62), Di Francesco (Oudin 68). Unused bench: Bieve, Brancolini, Romagnoli, Helgason, Voelkerling, Lemmens, Cassandro, Pezzella. Coach: Marco Baroni.
Referee: Marco Piccinini from Forlì.
Assistant referees: Filippo Bercigli from Florence and Dario Cecconi from Empoli.
Fourth official: Francesco Cosso from Reggio Calabria.
V.A.R.: Aleandro Di Paolo from Avezzano.
A.V.A.R.: Salvatore Longo from Paola.
Notes: Demiral (A), Zappacosta (A), Di Francesco (L), Gallo (L), Blin (L), and Mæhle (A) booked.
