Atalanta hit six past Cesena to qualify for the quarterfinals!
Courtesy of "brace twins" CDK-Samardžić and single goals from Zappacosta & Brescianini
Hitting Cesena for six at the end of an outstanding display, Atalanta sent the Gewiss Stadium crowd into a frenzy as the 6-1 goals galore against the Romagna side punched the Nerazzurri tickets to the 2024/25 Coppa Italia Frecciarossa quarterfinals, where the Nerazzurri will vie Bologna in February '25 for a spot in the semis.
Going pedal to the metal since the onset, the Nerazzurri put the game on the right track before the 10-minute stroke: on four minutes Zappacosta cut through the box and, after getting the edge on his marker, pierced through Pisseri with a pin-point follow-though to make it 1-0 in Bergamo. The Nerazzurri's double followed suit in the eighth following a swift give-and-go between Retegui and De Ketelaere, with the Belgian delivering the finishing blow. Minute 27th and 3-0 on the scoreboard: leading the black-and-blue sortie, Pašalić came full circle and served a long through ball to Samardžić, with the Serbian etching his name on the scoresheet also thanks to a slight rebound on a Cesena defender. Atalanta completed the haul in the 35th: putting the icing on a close-quarter duet between Retegui and Samardžić, De Ketelaere delivered the crowning blow to make it 4-0 and complete his brace.
The second half opened up with Brescianini completing Atalanta's re-poker mere minutes after entering the pitch: spotted by the de Roon-Toloi duo, our number 44 converted Marten's assist and left his mark on the game. And it was not over yet, as in the 71st minute, Samardžić bagged his second of the evening assisted by Zaniolo to make it 6-0. In the closing minutes, the visitors pulled one back through Ceesay to notch the final 6-1.
ATALANTA 6-1 CESENA
Scorers: Zappacosta 4 (A), De Ketelaere 8, 35 (A), Samardžić 27, 71 (A), Brescianini 54 (A), Ceesay 90 (C).
Atalanta: Rui Patrício (Rossi 78), Toloi, Hien (Sulemana 64), Djimsiti (Godfrey 64), Palestra, de Roon, Pašalić (Brescianini 52), Zappacosta, Samardžić, De Ketelaere (Zaniolo 52), Retegui. Unused bench: Carnesecchi, Kossounou, Bellanova, Vlahović. Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini.
Cesena: Pisseri, Ciofi (Curto 75), Piacentini, Pieraccini, Adamo (Hraiech 82), Mendicino, Bastoni (Chiarello 60), Celia, Tavsan (Francesconi 60), Van Hooijdonk, Kargbo (Ceesay 75) Unused bench: Klinsmann, Siano, Donnarumma, Berti, Prestia, Antonucci, Mangraviti, Calò. Coach: Michele Mignani.
Referee: Daniele Perenzoni from Rovereto;
Assistant referees: Edoardo Raspollini from Livorno and Vito Mastrodonato from Molfetta;
Fourth official: Paride Tremolada from Monza;
V.A.R.: Giacomo Camplone from Pescara;
A.V.A.R.: Marco Serra from Turin.
Notes: Djimsiti (A), Toloi (A) and Bastoni (C) booked.