On matchday 12 of the 2022-2023 Serie A TIM, Atalanta beat Empoli 2-0 at the Stadio Castellani in Empoli with goals from Hateboer and Lookman.
After a Destro cheeky lob landed on the roof of the net and a Lookman finish charged down by Vicario, Gasperini’s men almost took the lead in the 16th minute through Éderson, whose sudden finishes were charged down by the Empoli goalkeeper. The deadlock was broken in the 32nd minute by Hateboer, who collected Lookman’s scuffed effort and found the right gap to beat Vicario. Atalanta had a huge chance to double their lead on 42 minutes when they were awarded a penalty for Destro’s handball but Vicario managed to parry Koopmeiners’ penalty with his leg.
The second half started with a chance each, coming off Højlund and Marin respectively. Lookman doubled Atalanta’s lead in the 59th minute with a splendid solo move, who dribbled past a few defenders and drilled into the near bottom corner. Empoli threatened in the 70th minute with Destro, as his effort skimmed the crossbar. Lookman came close to bagging a brace in the 75th minute but was denied by Vicario. Musso had to make a huge save on Walukiewicz’s finish on 84 minutes (Ebouhei tapped in on the follow-up but was offside).
EMPOLI 0-2 ATALANTA
Scorers: Hateboer 32 (A), Lookman 59 (A).
Empoli: Vicario, Ebuehi, De Winter (Ismajli 56), Luperto (Walukiewicz 46), Cacace, Henderson (Fazzini 66), Marin, Bandinelli (Akpa Akpro 77), Bajrami, Pjaca (Cambiaghi 56), Destro. Bench: Perisan, Ujkani, Lammers, Satriano, Ekong, Degli Innocenti, Stojanovic, Haas, Baldanzi, Parisi. Coach: Paolo Zanetti.
Atalanta: Musso, Toloi, Demiral, Scalvini (Djimsiti 56), Hateboer, Éderson (Malinovskyi 64), Koopmeiners, Mæhle (Zortea 89), Pašalić, Lookman (Okoli 89), Højlund (Zapata 64). Bench: Rossi, Sportiello, Boga, Ruggeri, Soppy. Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini.
Referee: Giovanni Ayroldi from Molfetta.
Assistants: Domenico Rocca from Catanzaro and Marcello Rossi from Biella.
Fourth official: Manuel Volpi from Arezzo.
V.A.R.: Marco Guida from Torre Annunziata.
A.V.A.R.: Luigi Nasca from Bari.
Notes: Vicario (E) saved a penalty from Koopmeiners (A) on 42 minutes, de Winter (E), Destro (E), and Hateboer (A) booked.
