Despite Teun Koopmeiners’ penalty being saved by Empoli goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, Atalanta got back on track with goals from Hans Hateboer and an outstanding Ademola Lookman solo effort.
Luis Muriel was suspended, Marten de Roon and Davide Zappacosta were injured, Duvan Zapata wasn’t fully fit, and La Dea had just suffered their season’s first defeat. However, Juan Musso and Rafael Toloi made their long-awaited comebacks. Alberto Grassi and Lorenzo Tonelli were still absent from Empoli’s 4-0 defeat to Juventus.
After Mattia Destro’s lob hit the net’s roof, Vicario lowered himself to tip Ademola Lookman’s low cross-shot just past Rasmus Hojlund’s attempted tap-in. Vicario twice stopped Ederson from scoring from close range, and a defender stopped him on his third attempt.
When Teun Koopmeiners moved back from the by-line for Lookman, Atalanta finally made a goal. Lookman’s shot was charged down, but it fell to Hans Hateboer at the back post.
Tyronne Ebuehi attempted to equalise from 12 yards, but Merih Demiral made a last-ditch block to stop him. He also deflected a run by Liberato Cacace and missed wide for a corner.
Just before halftime, there was controversy when Mattia Destro was given a penalty for elbowing down a Lookman free kick. It was a questionable choice because, at best, he had his hand on his stomach and jutted out an elbow while simultaneously moving it in the direction of the ball. Vicario nevertheless parried Koopmeiners’ spot-kick, sticking up a trailing leg to block it.
Hojlund threatened on a through ball, Marko Pjaca’s curler was stopped, and Lookman doubled Atalanta’s lead with an outstanding solo effort. He manoeuvred around four defenders in the penalty area in search of a gap where he could shoot low and just inside the bottom corner.
After Lookman strayed offside with the assist, Destro barely cleared the bar, and Duvan Zapata finally put the ball in the back of the net.
Vicario stopped Lookman from scoring his second goal after Empoli gave the ball away carelessly, and the offside flag was raised for Ebuehi’s close-range header following a corner. After recovering possession of the ball in midfield, Rafael Toloi fired wide on the counterattack.
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