Not a good match. Sometimes asleep. But almost always in control of Atalanta. In fact, the Goddess came from the Champions League, and therefore there is a drop in pace. Even if this brought about risks for the home team.
In fact, after taking the lead after just 11 minutes, Cagliari managed to grab a draw in the second half. However, the Bergamo players reacted immediately, re-establishing the advantage with the decisive 2-1. The victory was signed by a brace from Scamacca. Thrill in injury time: the Sardinians score, but the referee disallows it for offside. And the VAR confirms it.
Atalanta thus confirms itself in mid-table with 19 points. It’s not going well for Cagliari who remain stuck at 14th, in 15th position.
The match
First half not exciting. The pace is not high. Atalanta essentially leads the game. But real opportunities are few. And Cagliari fails to react.
At minute 7 the Goddess immediately tries. De Ketelaere serves Lookman in an excellent position but Caprile opposes with experience and the subsequent tap-in ends up wide.
The hosts’ lead came in the 11th minute. Lookman comes down to the left and crosses towards the right edge of the area, where Zappacosta collects the ball and controls it and shoots: on the path is Scamacca who tries his heel and succeeds. Atalanta 1 – Cagliari 0.
In the 21st minute Cagliari appears in the Bergamo area. Palestra finds himself in a good position and shoots powerfully, but gets everything wrong and hits his teammate Borrelli. In the 27th minute it was Atalanta’s turn again, with Lookman: he received the ball in the center of the area, tried to turn and shoot with his right foot, but the solution was rebounded by the defence. Nothing done.
The match goes through a tired phase. Then in the 39th the new flash from Bergamo: it’s De Ketelaere again who sees Scamacca very well, but once again Caprile makes excellent guard. Time 2 minutes, and Atalanta tries again: Lookman makes a cross which turns into a shot, Caprile blocks. De Ketelaere tries the tap-in, but Obert fortunately denies it.
Little else happens until the final whistle. The referee calls everyone to the locker room.
The second half immediately appeared “asleep” compared to the first. Basically nothing happens for the first quarter of an hour. Except for the exit of Djimsiti, forced to leave due to a flexor problem. In his place Ahanor.
And then he tries to shake up Cagliari with some changes in the 58th minute: Gaetano in place of Borrelli and Prati in place of Zappa.
The game livens up a bit. And in the 75th minute the guests equalized thanks to one of the 2 substitutes: Gaetano. Folorunsho sees the former Napoli player and serves him: a quick triangle is born with Esposito Esposito who brings him in front of Carnesecchi: the crossing solution is perfect. Cagliari equalizes the scores: 1-1.
This time it’s Palladino who stirs things up with a double substitution in the 79th: Samardzic and Pasalic come on for Zappacosta and Kossounou.
And the decision immediately bears fruit: it is Samardzic himself who from the right sees Scamacca in the center of the area, who tries the acrobatic solution. But it hits her badly. Yet the ball remains there, Scamacca is ready to try again and beats Caprile. In the 81st minute Atalanta took the lead again.
Thrill at the end: in injury time Cagliari managed to score. Esposito finds Folorunsho who passes it by Luvumbo, who scores. But the assistant referee reports Folorunsho’s offside. Quick VAR check, which confirms.
Shortly after the final whistle: Atalanta-Cagliari 2-1.
Pre-match
On paper, a non-prohibitive match for Atalanta. Even if the Bergamo players are coming from Champions League week. The positive result in Europe could excite the Goddess, but those minutes could be felt on the legs. The fact is that Palladino’s team needs points to get out of the middle table and try to return to the European zone.
On the other hand Cagliari, who are still too close to the relegation zone. And tonight they have the opportunity to at least take advantage of Parma’s misstep and break away from one of their competitors in the fight for salvation.
