Napoli registered a crucial win as they beat Atalanta 3-1in Bergamo today. Lorenzo Insigne’s penalty gave the visitors the lead before Matteo Politano’s volley doubled it. Atalanta did manage to pull one back but Elif Elmas’ goal put the match to bed.
It was a much-needed win for Napoli as it keeps their Serie A hopes alive. Luciano Spalletti will be pleased with the three points and will hope that his team gets a mental boost from the victory that they can use in further matches.
Starting XIs: No Osimhen and Fabian, Atalanta Make Three Changes
Spalletti made four changes from Napoli’s victory over Udinese, most notably the absences of Victor Osimhen and Fabian Ruiz. The former was suspended and was replaced by the experienced Dries Mertens. Piotr Zielinski started ahead of Ruiz. In defense, Alessandro Zanoli made his first start of the season ahead of the injured Giovanni di Lorenzo while Juan Jesus started in place of the suspended Amir Rrahmani.
Atalanta made three changes from their victory in Bologna with Jose Luis Palomino starting in place of Merih Demiral while Davide Zappacosta replaced Giuseppe Pezzella. Ruslan Malinovskiy was in the lineup at the expense of Matteo Pessina
Insigne and Politano Put Napoli 2-0 Up at Half-Time
Atalanta looked to be the more attacking team during the first ten minutes and Napoli’s backline looked a tad wobbly. David Ospina was forced to make a fine save from Malinovskiy. The visitors won a penalty after Juan Musso brought down Mertens. Up stepped skipper Insigne and he found the net to give Napoli the lead. Musso did manage to get fingertips on the Italian’s shot but could not keep it out.
Atalanta were looking to level the scores and Remo Freuler took a shot on goal but it was wide. Napoli doubled their lead in the 37th minute thanks to Politano who volleyed in from Insigne’s free kick.
Atalanta continued to attack but the Partenopei backline, particularly Mario Rui were up to the task. Giorgio Scalvini had a couple of headers directed towards goal but both were wide.
De Roon Scores Before Elmas Puts Match to Bed
Atalanta made a substitution during the interval with Jeremie Boga replacing Hans Hateboer. The hosts pulled one back in the 58th minute when Maarten de Roon headed in from Aleksey Miranchuk. However, Napoli managed to put the game to bed when Elif Elmas found the back of the net. Atalanta often attempted to make things difficult for the visitors but were unable to do so.
Atalanta often troubled the Napoli backline and had plenty of attempts on goal. However, they could not get the better of their opponents. Napoli got the goods and are still in contention to win the Scudetto this season. The defeat is a massive blow to Atalanta’s hopes of reaching the Champions League.
What’s Next for Atalanta and Napoli
Atalanta travel to Germany for the first leg of their Europa League quarterfinal tie against RB Leipzig. It will be a tough task for La Dea given that the Bundesliga outfit is yet to lose in ten matches across all competitions and have some pretty good players, particularly Christopher Nkunku who has 27 goals and 17 assists this season so far. Napoli host Fiorentina next weekend and will fancy their chances of bagging all three points.
MATCH SCORECARD
April 3, 2022 – Serie A 2021-2022 Round 31
ATALANTA – NAPOLI 1-3
SCORERS: 14′ Insigne (N), 37′ Politano (N), 58′ De Roon (A), 77′ Elmas (N)
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ATALANTA (3-5-2): Musso; Djimsiti (64′ Maehle), Scalvini, Palomino; Hateboer (46′ Boga), De Roon, Freuler (83′ Pasalic), Zappacosta; Koopmeiners, Malinovskyi (46′ Miranchuk); Muriel (38′ st Cissè) (Sportiello, Pezzella, Pessina, Demiral, Mihaila, De Nipoti) Coach: Gasperini |
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NAPOLI (4-3-3): Ospina; Zanoli, Juan Jesus, Koulibaly, Mario Rui; Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielinski 70′ Fabian Ruiz); Politano (59′ Elmas), Mertens (88′ Malcuit), Insigne (70′ Lozano) (Marfella, Idasiak, Ghoulam, Tuanzebe, Demme, Ambrosino) Coach: Spalletti |
REFEREE: Mr. Di Bello from Brindisi
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Palomino (A), De Roon (A), Anguissa (N), Juan Jesus (N), Ospina (N); Added Time: 1st Half 2′, 2nd Half 6 ‘