Atalanta charted their path in the 2023-2024 UEFA Europa League with a 2-0 win over Raków Częstochowa in the Group D opener at the Gewiss Stadium. Éderson will surely cherish Thursday night in his heart of hearts: not only did the Carioca midfielder make his first-ever appearance in a European competition; but he also left an indelible mark on the game, scoring the goal that sealed Atalanta’s win. As for Emil Holm, the Swedish wingback accrued his first-ever minutes in a UEFA Europa League group stage match: despite having already debuted in the competition (namely, with Göteborg back in September 2020), he only played a qualifying match.

For the delight of all our stats-savvy readers, Stats Perform provided us with further figures from the game. On the grounds of the 29 shots fired against Raków Częstochowa, Atalanta had set a new Club record: in no other European match during Gasperini’s tenure had the Nerazzurri opened fire at the opposing goal more. With his siege-braker, Charles De Ketelaere scored his second seasonal header in all competitions: when it comes to “using the head”, no player in Italy has done it better than the Belgian thus far. As for Davide Zappacosta, thanks to the assist provided to CDK in the opener against Raków, Atalanta’s wingback has paid his offensive dues for the 7th consecutive season. Last but not the least, the only defender in Italy to flaunt a better scoring contribution in all competitions thus far than Matteo Ruggeri (3) is Giovanni Di Lorenzo (4).