A double from De Ketelaere and a goal from Miranchuk saw the Nerazzurri defeat Sassuolo 3-1 at the Gewiss Stadium to progress from the Round of 16 of the 2023-2024 Coppa Italia Frecciarossa and book a place in the quarter-finals, where they will meet AC Milan at the Meazza.
The game was fast and furious from the outset, with Éderson’s cross for De Ketelaere, who could not get on the end of it on five minutes and Musso’s diving save two minutes later denying Volpato. Scalvini’s 12th-minute header stung Cragno’s gloves, while De Ketelaere shot wide on 14 minutes. The breakthrough came in the 24th minute: Miranchuk’s cross found Pašalić, who flicked it on to De Keteleare, who quickly turned and beat Cragno for the opener. The game was far from dull as Castillejo tried his luck for Sassuolo but shot wide on 34 minutes, while Zappacosta tested Cragno and Éderson shot wide five minutes later. On the stroke of half-time, Scalvini made a crucial interception to deny Missori, whose play could have harmed the Nerazzurri.
After the restart, Miranchuk curled just wide with his left foot on 50 minutes, and two minutes later Pašalić’s header flew over the bar. Atalanta almost doubled their lead in the 56th minute when a team move saw Holm roll the ball across for Miranchuk, who attempted a backheel but was denied by the crossbar. From the resulting corner, Cragno tipped Scalvini’s header over the bar. The second goal of the evening was not long in coming, however: Pašalić and Miranchuk combined to set up De Ketelaere, who fired into the bottom corner for a brace. After threatening in the 69th minute with an angled shot that forced Cragno into a save, Miranchuk finally found the net and made it 3-0 with a left-footed finish set up by De Ketelaere. On 73 minutes, the Russian attacking midfielder made his way through the defence but shot over. In the final minutes, Palomino was given a warm welcome by the Nerazzurri fans as he made his comeback from injury, and Muriel could have added a fourth but was denied by the visiting goalkeeper before Boloca scored a consolation goal for Sassuolo in the 95th minute. With the 3-1 victory at the Gewiss Stadium, the Coppa Italia Frecciarossa journey continues, with AC Milan next up in the quarter-finals.
The Nerazzurri will return to work tomorrow, Thursday 4 January, with an afternoon training session taking place at the Centro Bortolotti in Zingonia behind closed doors to kickstart the preparations for the league game away to Roma.
ATALANTA 3-1 SASSUOLO
Scorers: De Ketelaere 24, 63 (A), Miranchuk 71 (A), Boloca 95 (S).
Atalanta: Musso, Scalvini (Koopmeiners 74), Djimsiti, Kolašinac (Palomino 81), Holm, de Roon, Éderson, Zappacosta, Pašalić (Muriel 74), Miranchuk (Zortea 87), De Ketelaere (Scamacca 74). Bench: Carnesecchi, Rossi, Hien, Bakker, Ruggeri, Bonfanti, Mendicino. Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini.
Sassuolo: Cragno, Missori, Tressoldi, Ferrari, Viti (Toljan 46), Lipani (Thorstvedt 84), Bajrami (Boloca 75), Castillejo (Laurienté 75), Volpato, Ceide (Pedersen 75), Mulattieri. Bench: Pegolo, Consigli, Erlic, Pinamonti, Berardi, Alvarez, Loeffen, Kumi. Coach: Alessio Dionisi.
Referee: Alberto Santoro from Messina.
Assistant referees: Emanuele Prenna from Molfetta and Valerio Vecchi from Lamezia Terme.
Fourth official: Manuel Volpi from Arezzo.
V.A.R.: Marco Serra from Torino.
A.V.A.R.: Marco Piccinini from Forlì.
Notes: Ceide (S) booked.
