Atalanta in "seventh heaven": 3-1 to Parma and off we go...
Retegui, Éderson and Lookman the Nerazzurri scorers of the night
With the Tardini stadium as setting to the Nerazzurri's seventh back-to-back league win, the 2024-2025 Serie A Enilive MD13 sees Atalanta climb up to 28 points in the standings thanks to goals from Retegui, Éderson and Lookman.
A boisterous game start for the Nerazzurri, donning the yellow kit tonight, who broke the deadlock only 4 minutes in through Retegui, who put Atalanta in the lead through his headed finish on Bellanova's pinpoint cross. After Bonny's drive flashed to the side, Lookman, set loose by Pašalić's back-heel pass, put the cherry on top of a stunning team play but had to see his goal ruled out by VAR due to a liminal offside in the build-up. Atalanta kept on threatening with goal chances aplenty: after striking twice with Retegui (namely, with a 16-minute header flying to the side and a twist finish hissing over the bar 3 minutes later) and once with Lookman (another headed finish ending up to the side in the 33rd), Atalanta eventually doubled their lead through Éderson, who made it 2-0 in the 39th with a point-blank tap-in on Ruggeri's left-flanked daisycutter. In a matter of seconds, Lookman and Ruggeri neared the Nerazzurri's third with a chance each (both muted by Suzuki). At the threshold of halftime, Carnesecchi had his work cut out as he flew well alert to defuse Bonny and Valeri.
Not long after the onset of the second half, Parma halved their deficit through Cancellieri. The hosts pushed hard in search of an equaliser, but the Nerazzurri held out well and netted the third of the evening in the 75th minute when Cuadrado floated a great cross in and Lookman made it 1-3 from point-blank range. The closing stages of the game saw Scalvini make his comeback on the pitch after the injury suffered in last season's finale. As the final whistle filled the air at the Tardini stadium, Atalanta walked off with the full bounty.
PARMA 1-3 ATALANTA
Scorers: Retegui 4 (A), Éderson 39 (A), Cancellieri 49 (P), Lookman 75 (A)
Parma: Suzuki, Coulibaly (Hainaut 71), Delprato, Balogh, Valeri, Sohm, Estevez (Almqvist 71), Man, Benedyczak (Mihaila 46), Cancellieri, Bonny (Haj 71). Unused subs: Chichizola, Corvi, Charpentier, Keita, Camara, Leoni, Di Chiara. Coach: Fabio Pecchia.
Atalanta: Carnesecchi, Toloi (Scalvini 82), Hien, Kossounou, Bellanova (Cuadrado 70), de Roon, Éderson, Ruggeri, Pašalić (Brescianini 55), Retegui (De Ketelaere 55), Lookman (Samardžić 82). Unused subs: Rui Patrício, Rossi, Sulemana, Zaniolo, Palestra. Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini.
Referee: Mr. Gianluca Manganiello from Pinerolo;
Assistant referees: Fabiano Preti from Mantova and Khaled Bahri from Sassari;
Fourth official: Luca Massimi from Termoli;
V.A.R.: Francesco Meraviglia from Pistoia;
A.V.A.R.: Maurizio Mariani from Aprilia.
Notes: Red card shown to Gasperini (A) on 54 minutes; Ruggeri (A), de Roon (A) booked.