With a Teun Koopmeiners in such a great shape, Atalanta and Gian Piero Gasperini can dream big. The Bergamaschi disposed of Torino by a 3-1 score on Thursday night in a game that the circumstances had turned into an unexpected six-pointer to go top of the Serie A table.
All three of Atalanta’s goals were scored by the Dutch midfielder who thus became the league top scorer alongside Dusan Vlahovic of Juventus. Atalanta are now leading the table with ten points together with José Mourinho’s Roma.
The Bergamaschi‘s perfect night was completed by a touching farewell that the Gewiss Stadium reserved to Josip Ilicic. The Slovenian star is leaving Bergamo after five years in which played a key part in turning Atalanta from an average mid-table team into a Champions League regular participant. Before the game, he was saluted by his fans with an emotional standing ovation.
Torino collected their first loss of the season, though their heavy defeat was mitigated by the multiple absences that forced Ivan Juric to reshuffle his regular lineup.
The first half almost ended in a goalless stalemate and the Granata had to thank their goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic for that. The more famous Sergej’s younger brother denied Koopmeiners, Duvan Zapata, and Merih Demiral to keep his side afloat until the 47th minute.
That’s when Torino’s Ola Aina pushed down Brandon Soppy in the box and prompted the referee to point to the penalty spot. Koopmeiners made no mistake from the spot, sending the hosts to the break with a one-goal lead.
Right after the restart, the Dutchman doubled his personal tally with a sharp shot that swished past the Torino defenders and caught the Granata goalkeeper slightly unprepared this time.
Torino pulled one back as Nikola Vlasic found the back of the net from a Pietro Pellegri assist but their illusion to draw level was short-lived. The visitors conceded a second penalty for a Valentino Lazaro foul on Ademola Lookman and Koopmeiners continued his show, burying the spot for the second time to seal his hat-trick and give the Bergamaschi the sweet feeling of being the capolista.
Atalanta had failed to qualify for European competitions for the first time in five years last season and many deemed Gasperini’s fantastic cycle to be over. However, the first four games of this 2022/23 campaign showed that the Bergamaschi are still up for a fight.
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