Gianluca Scamacca netted two goals, sandwiching a brief equaliser from Gianluca Gaetano, as Atalanta secured a hard-fought victory over Cagliari, capping off a perfect week.
Charles De Ketelaere played a pass to Ademola Lookman, who entered the box and had his initial shot parried by the advancing Elia Caprile, before sending the rebound into the side-netting.
Atalanta made their mark shortly after, with Lookman advancing down the left flank and delivering a pull-back for Davide Zappacosta, whose errant shot was deflected from close range by Scamacca’s back-heel flick.
Lorenzo Bernasconi returned to thwart his former Atalanta Under-23 teammate Marco Palestra as he broke free towards goal, while Lookman’s attempt was blocked and resulted in a corner.
Scamacca shot directly at Caprile after a clever through ball from De Ketelaere. The goalkeeper then made an impressive one-handed save from Lookman at close range, while De Ketelaere’s follow-up was deflected onto the roof of the net.
Cagliari came close to equalising just before half-time, as Gennaro Borrelli’s header sailed inches wide from Michael Folorunsho’s cross.
Berat Djimsiti grimaced as he clutched the back of his right thigh and had to be substituted, while Atalanta started to noticeably tire after their midweek European efforts.
The visitors capitalized on the opportunity and equalized with a superb team effort. Folorunsho discovered Gianluca Gaetano, who executed a swift give and go with Sebastiano Esposito to surge into the box and curved the finish beyond an advancing Marco Carnesecchi with the inside of his right boot.
Scamacca regained Atalanta’s lead when his volley from a Lazar Samardzic attempt didn’t connect as intended, but it fell favorably, and he was the first to respond to the loose ball, nudging it through Caprile’s legs from six yards out.
Nicola Zalewski compelled Caprile to make two challenging saves in a single sequence, first at the near post, followed by a curling shot from the edge of the area.
Zito Luvumbo found the back of the net for Cagliari during stoppage time, but the goal was disallowed as Folorunsho had strayed offside while providing the flick-on assist to the back post.
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