Atalanta v Venezia: the brainteaser

As March rolls in, it's time to dive headfirst into the heart of the season: 12 must-win games lie ahead for the Nerazzurri until the final whistle in May. In short, another fiery month awaits Atalanta, who must roar right from the start. Staying in the lion's den, the San Marco one will walk the Gewiss Stadium pitch this Saturday for the March curtain-raiser: as always, here's the pre-match quiz!

Is Mario Pašalić the only Atalanta player to have scored a hat-trick against Venezia?

The all-time top scorer in the fixture with 5 goals in 6 matches (making Venezia the Croatian midfielder's second favorite victim, only behind Spezia and level with Brescia), SuperMario scored one of his two hat-tricks (his second in the Serie A after his maiden one against Brescia back in July 2020) while wearing the Nerazzurri shirt against the Lagoon side.

In the 15th round of the 2021/22 Serie A, the (then) number 88 played a starring role, stealing the spotlight and walking away with the match ball at the end of a one-sided affair: after opening the scoring in the 7th minute capitalizing on a brilliant assist from Ilicic, the Croatian made it double within just 5 minutes with a billiard-like left-footed shot. After Koopmeiners added a solo goal to make it 3-0 for Atalanta, Mario sealed the deal and completed his bounty in the 67th minute with a point-blank volley following a duzzling run down the wing by Muriel.

But to answer the burning question: Is Pašalić the only Atalanta player to bag a hat-trick against Venezia? The answer is no. While Mario is the most recent to do so, he isn’t the first. The crown for the first hat-trick hero goes to Karl Aage Hansen, who scored three goals in Atalanta's 3-1 victory in the 18th round of Serie A during the 1949/50 season.

What makes the 2001/02 double encounter stand out?

Out of the 51 matchups so far, the two games from the 2001/02 season share a trait, or rather a full set thereof, the that make them truly one-of-a-kind. Starting of from the most striking exaple, on both occasions the Nerazzurri imposed themselves 1-0 (first at home on MD11, and then on foreign grounds in the 28th round). What about the second parallel, then? The same goal scorer in both matches: bagging the winning goal in each game, it was in fact Rossini who secured all three points for the Nerazzurri. Following Agatha Christie's adage, "One clue is a clue, two clues are a coincidence, but three clues make a proof", what’s the third common thread linking both matches? Here’s the twist: in both instances, the assist for Rossini’s winning goals came from none other than Cristiano Doni.

When was the last time Venezia claimed a Serie A win in Bergamo?

In addition to being our first-ever Saturday matchup, our March opener will mark the 26th meeting between the two teams across all competitions in Bergamo (the 10th in the Serie A). As for the Italian top-flight alone, the hosts have a commanding lead with 8 home wins, along with one draw (a 2-2 in the 1962/63 season) opposed to one-and-all Venezia's Serie A win in Bergamo.

So, when exactly did Venezia last win in Serie A in Bergamo?

Starting off with some "false leads", while Venezia's most recent win in Bergamo did occur in the 1993/94 season, that victory came in the Serie B (namely on MD4 and with a 0-3 scoreline, thanks to goals from Pavan, Vieri, and Cerbone).

To the 1993/94 campaign dates, Venezia's latest Coppa Italia success in Bergamo, as the visitors triumphed 0-2 in the first leg of the 2nd round.

Now, to get to the right answer: the last time Venezia claimed an away Serie A win against Atalanta occurred on matchday 26 of the 1942/43 season, when they defeated the Nerazzurri 1-2.