Ten goals in the first pre-season friendly

What a way to start the preseason! Atalanta's first commitment against Rappresentativa Città di Clusone culminated in a 10-1 walkover from the Black-and-blues (instead of the customary 45 minutes per half, two halves of 40 minutes each were played).

Before the kick-off, Atalanta, together with the municipality of Clusone and ASD Città di Clusone, paid their respects to Luca Carminati, who passed away last April, and who defended the goals of the various Representative sides playing the customary preseason friendlies over the past years: the black-and-blue captain Mario Pašalić delivered a floral arrangement plaited with a black-and-blue scarf to Gianpietro, Salvatore's brother, his nephew and to his best friend Arnaldo.

A big and warm crowd flooded Clusone today to welcome Atalanta's first friendly. With our President Antonio Percassi also attending on the stands, Atalanta's first goal of the 2023/24 preseason was courtesy of Éderson: in the 5th minute, the Carioca midfielder slotted in Pašalić's assist. Atalanta doubled the lead in the 14th minute following a corner taken by Boga: after Adopo's header got deflected, Bonfanti fired the rebound in point-blank. Three more minutes and 3-0 on the scoreboard: on 17 minutes, our new signing Bakker found his first goal for Atalanta with a right-footed shot assisted by Boga.

New half, (almost) a new line-up; with only Éderson and Zappacosta "spared" from Gasperini's halftime overhaul. Not even five minutes in, Mæhle made it 4-0 slotting the ball in with a chip shot. On 15 minutes Koopmeiners made it five-nil with a left-footed shot and two minutes later Zappacosta cut in and fired in a right-footed shot to score Atalanta's 6th. In the 31st minute, Zortea found his scoring ways, smacking the ball into the roof of the net. Who else but Højlund to score Atalanta's 8th? The Danish striker swivelled the ball sharply into the far corner on 33 minutes. In between, Rappresentativa managed to score the consolation goal, foiling Atalanta's clean sheet with Camanini. In the final minutes, Lookman rounded it off with a brace (scoring the first with a close-range shot and the second with a header) to seal the match on a 10-1 aggregate.

Tomorrow, Monday the 17th of July, training will resume at the "Città di Clusone" Sporting Venue in Upper Valle Seriana with a single afternoon scheduled for 17:00 CEST and open to the general public.

ATALANTA 10-1 RAPPRESENTATIVA CITTA' DI CLUSONE

Scorers in the 1st half: Éderson 5 (A), Bonfanti 14 (A), Bakker 17 (A); scorers in the 2nd half: Mæhle 4 (A), Koopmeiners 15 (A), Zappacosta 17 (A), Zortea 31 (A), Højlund 33 (A), Camanini 35 (RCC), Lookman 38, 39 (A)

Atalanta in the 1st half: Rossi, Zortea, Bonfanti, Ruggeri, Zappacosta, Adopo, Éderson, Bakker, Pašalić, Cisse, Boga. Atalanta in the 2nd half: Vismara, Toloi, Djimsiti, Kolašinac, Mæhle, de Roon, Éderson (Adopo 27), Zappacosta (Zortea 27), Koopmeiners, Højlund, Lookman. Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini

Rappresentativa Città di Clusone: Arizzi, Cassera, Bastioni, S. Pietropolli, Roggerini, Baronchelli, Balduzzi, Bassanelli, Morstabilini, Torri, Barcella. The following players have been subbed on during the match: Bana, Pietta, Filippi, Caccia, Zamboni, Adami, Ongaro, Ghilardi, Meringolo, Zucchelli, Facheris, Carrara, Camanini, C. Pietropolli, Piantoni, Arcuri. Coach: Marco Chiodi-Marco Bettinesci.

Referee: Davide Cerea from Bergamo (assistant referees Giovanni Ruocco from Brescia and Lorenzo Cattaneo from Bergamo).