Atalanta Submit To Sampdoria In 1-3 Home Defeat

Atalanta, Italian Football, Sampdoria, Serie A, Serie A 2020-2021 2 comments

Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta came into their Serie A Round 4 fixture with Sampdoria with a Champions League victory in their backpack after their Napoli disappointment. While Atalanta’s exciting start to the Serie A campaign came to an end last weekend, Sampdoria managed their second successive win. Claudio Ranieri’s men put their start of the season disappointments behind them and came into the tie with an emphatic win 3-0 over Lazio.

Both sides have shown a penchant for goals with only a lone outing for the duo ending without a concession in their own goal. A similar fate awaited this top-half fixture and it would begin in a similar mold.

Alejandro Gomez and Josip Ilicic would combine together throughout the first half to test the Sampdoria goalkeeper. They began the action in the third minute with the nimble giant crashing a free-kick into the wall. The diminutive Argentine would then shoot from outside the area, but his effort was easily dealt with by Emil Audero.

While Atalanta would continue to test the Blucerchiati custodian, Ranieri’s men would make their chances count. One chance. One goal. Those were the commentators’ remarks as Fabio Quagliarela put the finishing touches to a swift Sampdoria counter-attack. The 37-year-old attacker received the ball from Mikkel Damsgaard and dribbled past the defenders before unleashing a scathing shot into the net. La Samp continued on from last week’s dismantling of Lazio with a fourth goal of the season for Quagliarella.

Papu Gomez got on the end of a beautifully executed lofted ball but withered under the defense’s pressure. Josip Ilicic would be next to get a chance for an equalizer. The Slovenian forward hit straight at Emil Audero.

With La Dea hogging possession and trying to find a way past the Sampdoria defense, Ilicic was at the center of things. The forward sent an inch-perfect cross into the box but Sam Lammers’ header was easily saved by the attentive Audero.

Claudio Ranieri’s men would get the next spiff of air at goal. Lorenzo Tonelli got on the end of a dangerous free-kick but could not guide the ball goal-side. However, it was more astonishing that they could not double their lead after getting a penalty thanks to VAR. Quagliarella took the shot but Sportiello guessed the right direction and saved Atalanta’s blushes.

Two minutes later, the referee blew for the first half. Sampdoria had the lead but had Atalanta on their backs. The match would get more exciting after the break as the Bergamaschi outfit made their bid to get anything out of the fixture.

With Duvan Zapata coming on, the hosts had a focal point for their attack. The Colombian disrupted the Sampdoria defense to add an extra edge to their attacking forays. It was Zapata’s presence that allowed Papu to try his luck at goal from the edge of the box twice but it did not come to fruition.

Akin to the first-half, it was Sampdoria who hit Atalanta on the counter. They would double their lead thanks to Morten Thorsby heading from 12-yards out from a Jakub Jankto cross. Marco Sportiello was beaten and the score read 0-2.

Despite seeing Sampdoria build on their lead, Atalanta continued in their fashion. The captain would see another shot blocked while Robin Gosens’ effort on target was wide. Their persistence would pay off after Keita Balde brought down Duvan Zapata in the box. Despite VAR intervention, the referee’s decision stood. Zapata would not make the mistake Quagliarella committed, sending the ball straight down after Emil Audero jumped to his right.

The hosts would get a chance to equalize but like his efforts before, Papu’s shot whiskered past the crossbar. La Dea continued to pressurize Ranieri’s men but La Samp stood firm. They would make the Bergamaschi pay. Keita Balde ran at the defense and pierced it with a splitting pass. Jakub Jankto was in space and fired a first-time shot to make it 1-3.

The win brings Sampdorio into top-four, on level points with Atalanta. It was their third win on the trot, putting their initial blushes behind them. For La Dea, it has to be a wake-up call. They failed to give a good account of themselves against Napoli and were sterile in the attack against Doria. With Milan managing perfect results in their four outings, they need to straighten their act before fixture list congestion takes its toll.

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