In the 28th round of the 2022-2023 Serie A TIM season, Gasperini’s men secured three crucial points by clinching a 3-1 victory at the Stadio Zini in Cremona and now sit on 48 points.
It was de Roon, with his second goal in a row, who found the breakthrough in a very complicated first half with no big chances for either side. The Dutch midfielder swept home undisturbed after gathering Zapata’s roll across that was intercepted by a Cremonese defender, scoring another crucial goal after the one against Empoli.
Boga and Lookman came off the bench in the opening minutes of the second half and it was Atalanta’s no. 11 who immediately tested Carnesecchi. The hosts found the equaliser in the 56th minute through Ciofani, who converted a penalty kick.
However, the Nerazzurri restored their lead in the 72nd minute: Højlund, who had just come on, sprinted down the left, skipped past a defender with speed and power and rolled a lovely ball across that Boga only had to tap in. After Tsadjout’s finish was over, Højlund almost made it 3-1 in the 90th minute from de Roon’s cross, but the Danish wonderkid scuffed the finish wide. The job was not done yet though, and Lookman added a third goal in the 93rd minute; credit also goes to Boga, who robbed the ball on the edge of the box and combined with Éderson, who spread it to Lookman for an angled drive to seal the game.
The team will now enjoy two days off, as training is set to resume on Monday 3 April. The afternoon session will take place at the Centro Bortolotti in Zingonia behind closed doors.
CREMONESE 1-3 ATALANTA
Scorers: de Roon 44 (A), Ciofani pen 56 (C), Boga 72 (A), Lookman 93 (A)
Cremonese: Carnesecchi, Aiwu, Bianchetti, Lochoshvili (Vasquez 66), Benassi, Pickel, Meité, Castagnetti, Valeri, Tsadjout, Ciofani (Galdames 66). Bench: Saro, Sarr, Buonaiuto, Sernicola, Ghiglione, Afena-Gyan, Quagliata, Dessers, Basso. Coach: Davide Ballardini.
Atalanta: Musso, Toloi (Demiral 80), Palomino, Scalvini, Zappacosta (Mæhle 67), de Roon, Éderson, Ruggeri, Pašalić (Boga 46), Muriel (Lookman 46), Zapata (Højlund 59). Bench: Rossi, Sportiello, Okoli, Soppy. Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini.
Referee: Livio Marinelli from Tivoli.
Assistant referees: Marco Scatragli from Arezzo and Paolo Laudato from Taranto.
Fourth official: Gianpiero Mele from Nola.
V.A.R.: Luigi Nasca from Bari.
A.V.A.R.: Salvatore Longo from Paola.
Notes: Lochoshvili (C), Pašalić (A), Toloi (A), Ciofani (C) and Bianchetti (C) booked.
