Atalanta found themselves in crisis mode following a disheartening 3-0 home loss to Domenico Berardi’s Sassuolo, allowing the Neroverdi to surpass them in the Serie A standings and intensifying the pressure on Ivan Juric.
For Atalanta, Ademola Lookman believed he had found the net on nine minutes with a fierce shot from 12 yards, only for Jay Idzes to clear it off the line with courageous defending, resulting in Lookman sustaining a black eye.
Isak Hien played a ball over the top, but it fell directly into the path of Andrea Pinamonti, who was subsequently fouled by Marco Carnesecchi, resulting in a penalty. Domenico Berardi scored his second Serie A goal in consecutive matches.
Davide Zappacosta’s angled drive was on target until it was inadvertently blocked by teammate Nikola Krstovic, while at the other end, Fali Candé was unable to keep his finish down inside the penalty area.
Alieu Fadera initiated his run from inside his own half, receiving a pass from Berardi, which meant he was not offside when he sent the ball soaring over the bar during first half stoppage time.
Just 120 seconds after the restart, Sassuolo extended their lead. Lazar Samardzic lost possession in midfield and was subsequently nutmegged by Berardi, who delivered a pass from the right for Pinamonti to strike from 12 yards out.
Lookman tested Muric’s gloves, as the goalkeeper managed to reach the Mario Pasalic knockdown before Krstovic could score. Shortly after, Krstovic narrowly missed with a flick from a Davide Zappacosta pull-back.
Kristian Thorstvedt squandered the opportunity to extend Sassuolo’s lead to 3-0 with a heavy first touch that sent his shot off target. Meanwhile, as Atalanta pressed the visitors for extended stretches, they inadvertently left themselves vulnerable to a counter-attack.
Berardi sprinted onto the Thorsvedt through ball, fended off Zappacosta, and elegantly placed his finish past Carnesecchi with the inside of his left boot.
Nicola Zalewski curled wide of the far post following a Pasalic assist, yet Atalanta appeared noticeably disheartened by their second straight Serie A defeat without scoring.
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