Buzzer-beater: Isoa lands the Snaifun Goal of the Month for April!
Voted by Nerazzurri fans on our social channels
And how could it be otherwise? As if written by fate itself, just like the goal that first etched Isaac Isoa’s name into the history books of the Coppa Italia Primavera and now into those of the Goal of the Month by Snaifun, the No. 23 of the Nerazzurri Primavera once again leaves his mark, rewriting the ending of a story that already seemed set in stone.
With yet another last-gasp header, this time not on the pitch of the Arena Civica in Milan but on the virtual stage of the GOTM, the 2008-born centre-back delivers a true "Avcademy statement" and, with only his second-ever goal for the Under-20 side (his first in the Coppa Italia Primavera ), steers the award for April’s best goal. Just as - between Anelli’s saves and the composure of the four Nerazzurri penalty takers- he had helped send the Coppa Italia back to Zingonia, ending a 23-year wait.
Bringing the April gold race to a close in a tight, down-to-the-wire finish, an indomitable Nikola Krstović, narrowly beaten after fighting tooth and nail even on the virtual stage, and the flair of Under-23 talent Alberto Manzoni.
As always, here are the “exit polls” before we dive into the play-by-play of our four finalists:
Winner: Isaac Isoa, Atalanta 5-2 Juventus (1-1 after 90’, pens), Coppa Italia Primavera Final (27%);
Runner-up: Nikola Krstović, Roma 1-1 Atalanta, Serie A Enilive MD33 (26%);
3rd place: Alberto Manzoni, Atalanta U23s 1-1 Cavese, Serie C Sky Wifi MD34 (rescheduled) (24%);
4th place: Giorgio Scalvini, Lecce 0-3 Atalanta, Serie A Enilive MD31 (23%)
Up next: head over to our Instagram Reels to relive the four best goals of April!
4th place: Giorgio Scalvini, Lecce 0-3 Atalanta, Serie A Enilive MD31
We open the roundup with the very first step of the rankings, as well as the goal that kicked off April for the Nerazzurri: Scalvini’s “Salento mambo” breaking the deadlock at the Via del Mare in Lecce. It is “King” Giorgio who closes the month’s standings with a pure piece of “joga bonito”.
Minute 28: De Ketelaere drives down the right flank, bursting forward into the edge of the box. After being denied the joy of a goal by a superb Falcone save, the Belgian switches to assist mode and unlocks the Salento back line, picking out Scalvini’s run. The Atalanta No. 42 doesn’t think twice, turning CDK’s pass into gold with a touch of magic: a left-foot first touch to wrong-foot Ngom, followed by a first-time right-footed strike curled across goal.
3rd place: Alberto Manzoni, Atalanta U23s 1-1 Cavese, Serie C Sky Wifi MD34 (rescheduled)
Déjà vu? After March’s bronze, the Under-23s No. 7 returns to the podium in April. Sealing third place is the Treviglio-born jack-of-all-trades' eighth goal of the season — a true latigazo lighting up the Municipal stadium in Caravaggio in the rescheduled Matchday 34 clash against Cavese.
After a first half that saw Pardel steal the spotlight with a string of crucial saves, keeping the U23s level at the break despite being reduced to ten men, it is Manzoni who takes centre stage after the restart. The breakthrough comes in the 51st minute, when, after winning the ball back and snuffing out Visconti’s attempted counter, Manzo does it all himself: from range, he curls a sublime right-footed effort that crashes in off the inside of the crossbar and nestles into the top corner, leaving the Bluforcé keeper with no chance and wiping out the numerical disadvantage with a momentary lead for the home side.
Runner-up: Nikola Krstović, Roma 1-1 Atalanta, Serie A Enilive MD33
By a handful of votes, that’s all it took to deny Krstović the chance to follow in the footsteps of outgoing POTM and GOTM winner Davide Zappacosta and complete a back-to-back double sweep. Forced to raise the white flag only in stoppage time, the Montenegrin settles for April’s silver medal, with the white-hot strike that tore through the Olimpico in the away draw against Roma.
Twelve minutes… that’s all Nikola needed to make his mark and open the scoring at the ‘Viale dei Gladiatori’. De Roon steals the ball from Hermoso and instantly releases Krstović into space. The striker slips between Ndicka and Cristante, drives to the edge of the box and unleashes a thunderous right-footed strike that flies into the bottom corner beyond Svilar’s reach. It’s his 10th league goal (the 8th in a year of grace for the No. 90), taken at the first real chance and continuing his hot streak against Guiallorossi sides: after Lecce, Roma too.
Winner: Isaac Isoa, Atalanta 5-2 Juventus (1-1 after 90’, pens), Coppa Italia Primavera Final
We turn to a goal that needs no introduction… Just as he had sparked the turning point under the skies of the Arena Civica Gianni Brera, turning what looked like black-and-white confetti into Nerazzurri colours, Isaac Isoa strikes again with a new piece of footballing alchemy, transforming a silver medal into gold in a matter of seconds and rewriting the name destined to be engraved on the final award.
It’s the final moments of a no-holds-barred match, with both sides going toe-to-toe and the two goalkeepers standing out as the main protagonists throughout the 90 minutes, before an Atalanta-dominated end to the second half forces Radu into a string of crucial saves under the pressure from coach Zanchi’s side. It is the 93:36 mark when Valdivia delivers a corner into the box, aimed at Anelli, who is crowded out at the moment of the header.
But the game is not over yet: there are still twenty seconds to play, and Camara’s recovery proves decisive. At 93:44, a cross is whipped into the heart of the area, where Isoa rises above everyone else in a sea of black-and-white and Nerazzurri shirts, and with a towering header sends the ball into the net, sending the match to a penalty shootout. From the spot, between Anelli’s saves and Mouisse’s composure, Baldo, Gasparello and finally Valdivia convert to seal the outcome: the rest is history.