Pašalić & Musah fire back: 2-2 drama at the Olimpico

Honours even in the capital as the first leg of the 2025/26 Coppa Italia Frecciarossa semi-final finished 2-2 at the Olimpico. Pašalić and Musah struck to keep the Nerazzurri firmly in the tie, battling back to earn a thrilling stalemate against Lazio. The tie will now be settled in the return leg at the New Balance Arena, where a place in the final will be decided in Bergamo at the end of April.

The first real chance fell to the Nerazzurri in the 8th minute: Zappacosta whipped in a cross and Krstović powered a header into the far corner beyond Provedel, only for the goal to be ruled out after a VAR review spotted Zappacosta's offside position in the build-up. Atalanta threatened again on 12 minutes, this time through Pašalić, whose header drifted narrowly wide of the post. Samardžić then tried his luck from distance, but he dragged his effort too far across the goal. The final opportunity of the first half was once more in Nerazzurri colours and came in the 41st minute, when Zappacosta met Bernasconi’s cross with a first-time volley that crashed back off the crossbar.

The hosts took the lead right after the restart, as Dele-Bashiru dinked a soft finish over Carnesecchi. Atalanta's response was immediate, and the equaliser arrived in the 51st minute. Provedel could only parry Samardžić’s left-footed drive, and Pašalić reacted quickest to the loose ball, tapping home from close range to make it 1-1. On 59 minutes, Carnesecchi got down and turned Taylor’s curling left-footed strike out of harm's way. Lazio regained the lead in the 87th minute through Dia. But the Nerazzurri hit back almost immediately. Musah latched onto a beautifully crafted move by Kamaldeen and unleashed a thunderous right-footed strike that beat Provedel, sealing the 2-2 scoreline that brought the first leg of the semi-final to a close.

LAZIO 2-2 ATALANTA

Scorers: Dele-Bashiru 47 (L), Pašalić 51 (A), Dia 87 (L), Musah 89 (A).

Lazio: Provedel, Marusic, Gila, Romagnoli, Nuno Tavares, Dele-Bashiru, Cataldi, Taylor (Belahyane 83), Isaksen (Cancellieri 64), Maldini (Dia 76), Zaccagni (Noslin 75). Unused Bench: Motta, Furlanetto, Pellegrini, Patric, Pedro, Ratkov, Hysaj, Provstgaard, Przyborek, Lazzari. Coach: Maurizio Sarri.

Atalanta: Carnesecchi, Scalvini (Kossounou 63), Hien, Kolašinac (Ahanor 76), Zappacosta, De Roon (Musah 63), Pašalić, Bernasconi, Samardžić (Kamaldeen 75), Zalewski, Krstović (Scamacca 85). Unused Bench: Rossi, Sportiello, Bakker, Bellanova, Djimsiti, Vavassori. Coach: Raffaele Palladino.

Referee: Gianluca Manganiello from Pinerolo;
Assistant referees: Daniele Bindoni from Venice and Alberto Tegoni from Milan;
Fourth official: Juan Luca Sacchi from Macerata;
V.A.R.: Matteo Gariglio from Pinerolo;
A.V.A.R.: Marco Guida from Torre Annunziata.

Notes: De Roon (A), Palladino (A), Sarri (A), Pašalić (A) and Hien (A) booked.