Lazio v Atalanta: the brainteaser

Coming full circle both monthly and yearly, Atalanta will write the final chapter of their extraordinary 2024 right where it all began almost 365 days ago, of course in Serie A terms, when the Nerazzurri faced one of the two teams from the capital (Roma, in that instance) on that "distant" January 7th... Get ready for Atalanta's second December night in the Eternal City, on the biancoceleste side of the Tiber this time, with our pre-match quiz!

When did Barrow score in our 1-1 draw back in the 2017/2018 season?

May 6, 2018: as part of the 36th Serie A round, Atalanta faced Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome in a crucial top-of-the-table clash. With both teams on the lookout for vital points to secure a “Europe view” spot, stakes couldn’t have been higher.

Although the premises suggested a cautious start, Atalanta took the initiative just a few twists of the dial after kickoff: after winning a midfield challenge, De Roon found Barrow with a precise quarterback pass, with the Gambian striker opening the scoring for the Nerazzurri with a lightning right-footer. Pushing even harder after taking the lead, Gasperini's team almost doubled their advantage in the 9th minute: Freuler recovered the ball for Cristante, who set up Papu, but the shot hit the post. The rebound was pounced on by the then-number 8, whose attempt was deflected for a corner. Lazio equalized in the 24th minute with a goal from Caicedo, who converted Luis Alberto’s assist before nearing the second shortly after as his header grazed the crossbar. Despite both sides trading blows until the halftime whistle, the first half ended 1-1: while Papu had a long-range shot in the 40th minute, Lazio retorted with a Felipe Anderson counter before a boisterous Freuler had another chance on the brink of cooldown.

The skirmish resumed at the start of the second half, with attempts from de Vrij and Toloi on 50 and 55 minutes respectively. In the 67th, Strakosha made a great save against Freuler, repeating the feat 10 minutes later against Ilicic. As the black-and-blue forcing raged on, Atalanta racked up a flurry of chances: in the 83rd minute, Bastos cleared a shot from Gosens, followed by another outstanding save from Strakosha against Gomez. In the dying moments, Palomino went all out from a corner, but his effort just skimmed past the post.

Circling back to the question, when did Musa open the scoring for the Nerazzurri? On 2 minutes.

Who is the only Atalanta player to have scored against Lazio at both the Olimpico and Nazionale stadia?

While out of the 65 goals Atalanta has scored in Rome against Lazio, only 11 were recorded before May 17, 1953 (namely, when the Olympic Stadium became the official home ground for both Capitol teams); even fewer Nerazzurri players managed to score between the 1952/53 and 1953/54 seasons (the timeframe when Lazio moved into their new home) with only 3 names on the list.

While Cominelli, Cergoli, and Jeppson are noted for, respectively: scoring Atalanta's first goal at the Nazionale Stadium (with the former giving the visitors the temporary lead in the Nerazzurri’s Serie A 1940/41 MD25 1-1 draw) and for contributing to the club’s first victory in Rome (a 1-2 win in the 30th matchday of the 1951/52 Serie A); the feat of scoring at both Laziali venues bears the name of Poul Rasmussen. Not only did the Danish forward net Atalanta's last goal at the National Stadium (namely sealing the visitors' 0-2 victory on the 1952/53 Serie A MD25); but he also scored the Nerazzurri's first-ever goal at the Olimpico Stadium, as he halved the deficit by bagging the goal to make the temporary 2-1 during the team's draw in the following season (MD33).

How many matches make up our longest unbeaten run against Lazio?

Out of the 63 matches played at the Olimpico between the Nerazzurri and the Biancocelesti, Atalanta has gone unbeaten 35 times (with 15 wins and 20 draws), while Lazio has won 28 times, the latest being in last season's first leg. Before the setback suffered on MD8 of the 2023/24 campaign, Gasperini's men recorded 6 consecutive useful results (3 wins and 3 draws), thus matching the Club's historical record in the capital previously set between the 1959-1960 and 1966-67 seasons (which included 4 wins and 2 draws).

As for the lower positions of the podium, two tetrads are "tied on point": namely, the quartets set, respectively from the 1946/47 to 1949/50 seasons (all draws) and the other from the 1989/90 to 1991/92 seasons (with 2 wins and 2 honours even).