Atalanta suffered their first defeat this Serie A season as Fiorentina eked out a tight 2-1 triumph at the Gewiss Stadium on Saturday. In a match highlighted by three penalties and VAR controversy, Dusan Vlahovic brought La Viola’s five-match winless league streak in Bergamo to a halt.
Berat Djimsiti thought he gave Atalanta an early advantage, but his celebration was short-lived as the VAR disallowed the goal for offside. Just after the half-hour mark, Vlahovic converted a spot-kick to fire Fiorentina to a half-time lead from the only shot on target in the first half.
The second half started in a similar fashion as Valerio Marini pointed to the spot after Djimsiti’s foul play inside the box. The Serbia international was relentless once again to double the visitors’ lead and pave the way for a massive victory.
However, another VAR intervention complicated Fiorentina’s life in Bergamo. A hectic situation inside La Viola’s penalty area resulted in another spot-kick, though this time, Duvan Zapata got better of Pietro Terracciano to throw Atalanta a lifeline.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s men continued to dominate possession and create chances, but Vincenzo Italiano’s side stood firm and managed to claim their first Serie A win in Bergamo since February 2016. Fiorentina have now won back-to-back top-flight matches for the first time since August 2020.
Meanwhile, Atalanta’s dreadful start to the season keeps them in mid-table with partial success from three inaugural fixtures (W1, D1, L1). During the post-game interview, Gasperini admitted he has no regrets about the way his team performed on Saturday evening.
“I am thinking about Tuesday’s game against Villarreal, we don’t have time to be disappointed about this match. We have to take the positive out of it as we prepare for Tuesday. We even scored three goals, but of them got disallowed (he laughs sarcastically),” he said, as relayed by TUTTOmercatoWEB.
“The rules are so confusing, there’s too many interpretations. When they explain them to us everything seems clear, but then during the games…If we didn’t have the VAR then it would be ok, but these are situations that can be looked at and where an unambiguous interpretation can be given. Let’s not even talk about handballs…”