Milan v Atalanta: the brainteaser

Easter Sunday on the road for the Nerazzurri, away from Bergamo for the first (and only) time this April: called to step onto the San Siro pitch for the 2024/25 Serie A MD33, Atalanta will be knocking "on the Devil’s door" for a mephistophelian big match... Between Zona Cesarini goals, familiar faces on both sides and a vintage goal-fest, it's time to get in the zone with our pre-match quiz!

2018/19 Serie A, Milan 2-2 Atalanta, when did Rigoni strike?

During his stint of 12 games donning the Nerazzurri shirt Argentine striker Emiliano Rigoni scored three goals, all away from home and all worth their weight in gold... After bagging a brace at the Olimpico in Rome, it was Gattuso's Milan became the Albiceleste striker's next target.

After Higuain gave Milan the lead just 3 minutes in, finishing off a sharp assist from Suso and former Atalanta player Bonavetura found the back of the net before being denied by VAR for offside, Atalanta pushed back with Barrow and Pašalić both coming within a whisker of leveling it, while Bonaventura and fellow ex-Atalanta player Kessié threatened again late in the half for Milan.

With Rigoni and Zapata joining the fray, Atalanta came out of the tunnel with South American firepower, a choice that shifted the momentum of the game almost in a pinch as the Latin link-up delivered on 54 minutes: Rigoni teed up Zapata, who raced down the wing and squared it to Papu Gómez for the equalizer. Despite the cold shower delivered by Bonaventura shortly after, Atalanta kept knocking at the door, putting Milan on the back foot in a chaotic final stretch. After Gosens came close with a spectacular overhead kick in the 72nd minute, in the 89th de Roon had a golden chance for 2–2, only to be denied on the goal line by a clutch intervention from Rodriguez. Still, the equalizer was in the air, and it was only a matter of time, three minutes to be exact! Quick off his mark and pouncing like a hawk on his prey, Rigoni proved himself "a fox in the box" in burying in the back of the net Donnarumma's rebound on a Zapata point-blank shot in the 92nd minute.

Which former player made the most appearances in a Rossoneri shirt?

Looking at both rosters, there are six familiar faces to have dooned the other shirt: five in Nerazzurri colours and one among Milan's ranks (or rather sticks in his case). While on Atalanta's side, listed in order of arrival, we find Maldini, Bellanova (who only passed through Milan’s youth ranks), Brescianini, De Ketelaere e Pašalić; it was Marco Sportiello who made the switch from Bergamo to Milan.

Thus taking the number 18 whirlwind out of the equation, who logged the most appearances with Milan’s first team?

Bringing up the rear is Marco Brescianini, who made a standalone appearance -namely his professional debut- in August 2020 on the occasion of the Serie A's finale against Cagliari after putting in the graft at youth level and racking up 75 appearances for the U19s and 13 for the U17s respectively.

Next up is Daniel Maldini: most recent addition to Atalanta's dressing room, the black-and-blue number 70 pulled on the Devil's shirt on 24 occasions in all competitions, chipping in with one goal - to which adding his 41 run-outs with the Primavera and the 28 matches for the U17s.

At the opposite end of the timeline when it comes to "Atalanta seniority", we find Mario Pašalić, who’s been donning the Nerazzurri shirt since July 2018, arriving from Chelsea after that brief spell in Moscow sandiwched in between his Milan stint and his Orobic tenure... But how many times did “Super Mario” take the field during his Milanese sojourn? While his Atalanta tally now stands at 292 appearances, 59 goals, and 39 assists across all competitions, his Rossoneri chapter saw him feature 27 times, with 5 goals and 1 assist to his name.

Likewise in Milan for one start-top spell but sitting at the top of the list nonetheless is Charles De Ketelaere! All the go this week, the Belgian racked up 40 games (providing 1 assist in the process) in the Duomo's shade… As a further trivia on the number 17, CDK crossed paths with his Club-to-be twice in the 2022/23 campaign, coming off the bench in both legs.

What was the outcome of our last MD33 game in San Siro?

Not exactly uncharted territory, but pretty close! Out of the 147 showdowns with Milan, only once did the two sides trade pennants on MD33 and, as fate would have it, it was right in San Siro.... Sunday, May 11 1952: scrapping for points in the relegation battle, Ceresoli's Atalanta rolled into town to face second-placed Milan in what tunred out to be a real goal-bonanza.

With the fireworks going off as early as three minutes in, it was Soerensen who opened the floodgates, finishing off Jeppson's assist before Milan leveled the playing field in the 6th with Burini, who buried a penalty before striking again just before the half-hour mark to fkip the game on its head. The lead didn't last long, though, (another three minutes in fact) as former Rossonero Santagostino drew Atalanta level in the 33rd.

Early in the second half, Santagostino struck again, this time from a free kick, making it 3–2 to Atalanta. True to the game’s gobsmacking script, the lead flipped once again within another three minutes: thanks to a quickfire double from Burini and Nordahl. And just when you thought the drama was over, Jeppson put the final stamp on the match with a solo goal in the 84th minute.

Final score? 4–4 at the whistle!