On matchday 5 of the 2023-2024 Serie A TIM, Atalanta defeated Cagliari 2-0 at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo with a goal per half.
Atalanta got off to a strong start, with De Ketelaere testing Radunovic on 12 minutes at the end of a splendid solo effort. Cagliari came up with an instant reply through Shomurodov, whose diving header was wide. After Lookman’s mazy run resulted in a 26th-minute right-foot shot that rattled the crossbar, Zappacosta hit the outside of the near post on the outcome. At the half-hour mark, Radunovic had to get down to save Lookman’s effort, but Atalanta put themselves in siege mode, pouring everything forward, and it was Lookman himself who broke the deadlock in the 33rd minute: De Ketelaere burst down the right and rolled across for the Nigerian forward, who prodded into an empty net. The Nerazzurri almost made it 2-0 on 27 minutes when Ruggeri’s left-foot effort was denied by a flying Radunovic.
The second half registered fewer chances, and despite Cagliari in search of an equaliser, the Atalanta defence allowed the visitors very little. As a result of this display, Pašalić came off the bench to double our lead with a 76th-minute snooker shot after combining with another substitute, Muriel. Although Cagliari produced a scoring threat on 82 minutes as Oristanio turned and hit a strike that smacked against the crossbar, their efforts did not suffice in the end and Atalanta eventually claimed another 2-0 win at the Gewiss Stadium, their second in a row after Thursday’s win in the UEFA Europa League opener.
There’s no stopping now: tomorrow, Monday the 25th of September, Gasperini’s men will be back to training at the Centro Bortolotti in Zingonia (behind closed doors) with a morning drill ahead of the mid-week outing against Hellas Verona.
ATALANTA 2-0 CAGLIARI
Scorers: Lookman 33 (A), Pašalić 76 (A).
Atalanta: Musso, Scalvini, Djimsiti, Kolašinac, Zappacosta (Adopo 80), de Roon, Éderson (Muriel 60), Ruggeri (Toloi 80), Koopmeiners, Lookman (Pašalić 68), De Ketelaere (Holm 68).
Unused subs: Carnesecchi, Rossi, Palomino, Zortea, Cortinovis, Hateboer, Miranchuk.
Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini.
Cagliari: Radunovic, Hatzidiakos (Augello 65), Dossena, Obert, Nandez, Deiola (Zappa 46), Makoumbou, Sulemana (Viola 65), Azzi (Oristanio 79), Shomurodov (Petagna 79), Luvumbo.
Unused subs: Aresti, Scuffet, Goldaniga, Prati.
Coach: Claudio Ranieri.
Referee: Ermanno Feliciani from Teramo (assistant referees Giovanni Baccini from Conegliano and Stefano Liberti from Pisa; fourth official Daniele Orsato from Schio, V.A.R. Eugenio Abbattista from Molfetta, A.V.A.R. Oreste Muto from Torre Annunziata).
Notes: Deiola (C), and Luvumbo (C) booked.
