U23s seal second straight home win: 2-1 over Pescara

Atalanta U23s claimed all three points with a 2-1 comeback win over Pescara, as Diao and Steffanoni found the net in the second half. The Nerazzurri made it back-to-back home wins and moved up to six points in the standings.

The first half was evenly contested but highly intense, with plenty of challenges. The Nerazzurri created a few openings, including one for Manzoni in the 26th minute, but without posing any real threat. Pescara, meanwhile, lacked accuracy but looked slightly more dangerous with a number of efforts from around the box, all either blocked by the Nerazzurri defence or dealt with by Anelli.

The second half had everything, starting with two superb saves from Anelli in the 52nd and 57th minutes, the latter coming from a close-range Pescara effort that he kept out just a few yards from goal. However, the visitors broke the deadlock in the 64th minute through Valzania, who pounced on the rebound after the ball had come back off the crossbar. The Nerazzurri refused to give in and substitute Diao restored parity in the 73rd minute: latching onto Bonanomi’s headed flick-on, the forward outpaced the Pescara defender before beating the goalkeeper. Atalanta came within inches of making it 2-1 in the 76th minute, when Ghislandi was unable to turn home Ujkak’s save from close range after Bonanomi’s initial long-range effort. Steffanoni completed the comeback two minutes later in spectacular fashion, firing a superb right-footed strike from outside the box into the top corner. Pescara pushed for an equaliser until the final whistle, but the Nerazzurri defence held firm as Atalanta U23s secured all three points.

ATALANTA U23s 2-1 PESCARA

Scorers:Valzania 64 (P), Diao 67 (A), Steffanoni 78 (A)

Atalanta U23s: Anelli, Idele, Plaia, Manzoni (Bonanomi 56), Pounga, Misitano (Diao 56), Mirra, Guerini (C) (Navarro 72), Steffanoni, Levak, De Nipoti (Ghislandi 72). Unused Bench: Bugli, Bertini, Simonetto, Bertolini, Bergonzi, Puljić, Camara, Rinaldi, Pedretti, Zanaboni, Mencaraglia. Coach: Nicola Beati.

Pescara: Ujkak, Capellini, Valzania (C) (Ferraris 81), D'Ausilio, Donati, Guccione (Inglese 81), Motta, Nardin, Vitali (Erradi 46), Sardo (Meazzi 63), Parigi. Bench: Saio, Bonassi, Graziani, Gatto, Milan, D'Errico, Morazzini, Zeppieri. Coach: Antonio Buscè.

Referee: Dario Acquafredda from Molfetta;
Assistant referees: Paolo Cufari from Turin and Luca Granata from Viterbo;
Fourth official: Filippo Colaninno from Nola;
FVS operator: Edoardo Maria Brunetti from Milan.

Notes: Stoppage time: 4 minutes (1st half) and 6 minutes (2nd half); Steffanoni (A), Donati (F), Vitali (F) booked