Dominant!!!

Simon Basten

Oct 24, 2022

3 min read

Updated: 4 days ago

2022-23 Season

Game 11, Serie A

Sunday, October 23, 2022

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Bergamo, Stadio Gewiss

Atalanta-Lazio 0-2

Lazio dominate Atalanta helped by an exceptional performance by Felipe Anderson.

The teams

Maurizio Sarri finally had an entire week to prepare the match and to see what was the best solution regarding the substitution of injured Ciro Immobile. Immobile would probably be out until January. The final decision was to use the team that had played after Ciro’s substitution last Sunday. Giampiero Gasperini had Duvan Zapata, Juan Musso and Berat Djimsiti back and fit but not quite ready to play from the start. They would be sitting on the bench.

The match

The teams began the game cautiously. Lazio tried to get control early on but without any apparent rush , Atalanta, as they had always done so far that season, waited patiently for an opportunity to strike.

However everything changed after 10 minutes. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to Manuel Lazzari who pushed forward on the right wing, ball to Pedro who crossed in low to Mattia Zaccagni who had followed the move and was in the right place at the right time. 1-0 for Lazio.

Two minutes later it should have benn two. Pedro from the right to Milinkovic-Savic on the edge of the box. His shot was not great but became a superb assist for Matias Vecino who however failed to connect. Vecino tried again in the 18th minute from outside the box but his shot was wide.

In the 24th minute, the first chance for Atalanta. Brandon Soppy crossed from the left, the ball went all the way over to Hans Hateboer unmarked on the far right. His header was high even though it did look as if he were off-side.

Lazio dominate possession and did not let Atalanta anywhere near the ball. Felipe Anderson was literally everywhere. Pressing in attack, in midfield, got back to defend, made himself available in attack.

In the 43rd minute another great opportunity for Lazio again with Vecino. Milinkovic-Savic on the left ran towards the box. Once he was just inside he stopped, looked around and saw Vecino unmarked coming towards the centre. Ball to the Uruguayan who shot but the ball was high.

Second half

Gasperini had to do something to wake his team up and try something different to change the course of events, so he went for the first substitutions between the two halves. Out went Caleb Okoli and Mario Pasalic, in came Djimsiti and Russian Malinosvskyi.

It did not really make much difference. Lazio in the first five minutes of the second half had several corners and Atalanta just could not get out of their half. In the 50th minute corner for Lazio, Atalanta’s defence cleared, but the ball got to Adam Marusic. Great shot that Marco Sportiello tipped over the crossbar.

In the 52nd minute, Zaccagni passed the ball back to Alessio Romagnoli on the left, still inside his own half. The Lazio defender saw that Marusic was about to sprint into an open space. The former Milan captain kicked the ball over the Atalanta players and Marusic started running. Thirty metres later, Adam got to the ball, went into the box and pushed it back to Felipe Anderson. The Brazilian’s magic touch set up a chance that he did not miss. 2-0 for Lazio. Great goal.

De facto, game over

Zaccagni had a chance in the 57th minute, but his shot from outside the box was saved by Sportiello. Atalanta at this point finally gained some control of the game and Lazio pulled back a bit, but apart from a few headers, that could not seriously be called chances, Lazio managed to control the rest of the game without any problems.

Lazio replaced Danilo Cataldi with Toma Basic in the 70th minute, Lazzari with Elseid Hysaj in the 76th and Matteo Cancellieri for an extremely tired Pedro with seven minutes to go.

Atalanta changed Soppy for Joakim Maehle in the 64th minute, Ademola Lookman for Zapata in the 71st minute and Ederson for Marten De Roon in the 75th minute.

With one minute to go Luis Muriel was booked for the second time and sent off.

Atalanta lost for the first time this season. Lazio dominated the match, conceding almost nothing, thanks to a splendid all round performance.

Who played for Atalanta

Sportiello, Scalvini, Demiral, Okoli (46' Djimsiti), Hateboer, De Roon (75' Ederson), Koopmeiners, Soppy (64' Maehle), Pasalic (46' Malinovskyi), Lookman (71' Zapata), Muriel

Substitutes: Musso, Rossi, Zortea, Ruggeri, Boga, Hojlund

Manager: Gasperini

Who played for Lazio

Provedel, Lazzari (77' Hysaj), Casale, Romagnoli, Marusic, Milinkovic-Savic, Cataldi (71' Basic), Vecino, Pedro (84' Cancellieri), Felipe Anderson, Zaccagni