GENOA-ATALANTA 1-4
The former Malinovksyi responds to De Ketelaere’s jewel, then Koopmeiners, Zappacosta and Touré give the Bergamo players their fourth success in a row
11 feb 2024
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L’Atalanta beats 4-1 he Genoa and achieves the fourth consecutive victory in Serie A, returning to +3 on Bologna and consolidating the fourth place in the standings. It’s the usual thing to open the scoring at Marassi De Ketelaere, with a masterpiece goal after 22′. The hosts react at the start of the second half and find the equalizer with the great ex Malinovskyi (51′), but immediately afterwards they go down again punished by a splendid free kick from Buyers (55′). At the end of a very long injury time, the counterattack goals of Zappacosta and the newcomer Touré they make the liability heavier than what is expressed by the field. The Goddess continues to run, the Grifone, despite yet another strong match, stops after eight consecutive useful results.
THE MATCH
The two teams put a lot of intensity on the field from the first moments of the game, both rely heavily on sudden verticalisations to try to exploit one-on-ones, but in the long run it is above all the defenders who shine. The usual thing gives a twist to a lively but blocked match De Ketelaere: Pasalic finds the right corridor to catch him on the edge of the area, he controls his back to the goal, turns and with a left-footed volley from film library beats Martinez. A jewel that certifies the golden moment of the former Milan, then warned by Colombo for a useless provocative celebration towards the Genoa public. The hosts responded with a good opportunity Vasquez on the development of a corner, which however is blocked by a careful player Meatballs. The pressure brought by the rossoblù is felt and the Nerazzurri goalkeeper is also decisive in the 41st minute, when he extends himself on an unexpected conclusion from Retegui from outside the area, defending the lead and allowing his team to go into half-time ahead by a goal.
Genoa returns to the field in the second half with an ultra-aggressive attitude, Retegui and Frendrup scare Carnesecchi twice in the space of a couple of minutes, but it is the great ex who pierces him, Malinovskyi: Badelj’s shot was beautiful, his left-handed torpedo at the crossroads was extraordinary. Gasperini, furious at his initiation, contemplates a triple change, but immediately before carrying it out the Goddess comes forward again: Koopmeiners’ jewel free-kick, on which Martinez can do nothing. At the quarter of an hour Pasalic he has a huge chance to close it, but he gets hypnotized face to face with the Spanish goalkeeper. With Touré in place of Scamacca the Goddess finds it much more difficult to keep the center of gravity high, but with a quarter of an hour to go she still manages to find the goal to make it 1-3: she scores it Scalvini at the end of a somewhat confusing action, but the VAR cancels it after one endless revision (about 7 minutes) for a imperceptible touch of Pasalic, who was offside, before the ball entered the net. The match remains alive and in the 88th minute Carnesecchi has to invent a miraculous intervention on Gudmundsson to save the result. Gilardino tries with all the weapons at his disposal, but in the last three he scores well 13 minutes of added time overall he receives goals from on the counterattack Zappacosta e Touréwhich make the result too much penalizing for his boys.
REPORT CARDS
I want 6 – De Ketelaere is lost during the 0-1, leaving him too much space to turn and kick, but overall he plays a solid and courageous performance like the entire Grifone rearguard.
Retegui 6.5 – An evening of struggle and suffering, in which he fails to break through, but gives everything for the team and in general is among the most dangerous.
Malinovskyi 7 – Magnetizes an infinite quantity of balls to his feet, working well between the midfield and the midfield. He scores the most classic of the ex’s goals in his own way, with a lightning left foot.
Gudmundsson 5.5 – Complicated match, with few playable balls, but also few inventions and some errors not from him. He was denied by Carnesecchi the equalizer in the 88th minute, which could have redeemed him.
De Ketelaere 7 – A first half like a devil, with tears, classy plays and a goal to rub your eyes. He comes out at the start of the second half when Gasp wants to shake up a somewhat sleepy team.
Scamacca 6 – Zero personal opportunities and a few shouts from Gasperini. However, his work is invaluable for his teammates and his magic in midfield triggers the action that leads to the 0-1.
Carnesecchi 7 – He makes at least three decisive interventions, before the miracle of instinct with which he denies Gudmundsson an equalizer two minutes from the 90th minute and which is decisive in his team’s victory.
Touré 6 – Thrown into the fray of an intense and very balanced match, he stands out for the many balls thrown away and for his poor ability to manage those that come at him, but he makes up for it with the goal that makes it 4-1 and can give him a nice injection of confidence for the next challenges.
THE SCORESHEET
Genoa-Atalanta 1-4
Genoa (3-5-2): Martinez 6; Vogliacco 6 (45’+2 st Vitinha sv), Bani 6.5, Vasquez 6; Sabelli 6 (38′ st Messias 5.5), Malinkovskyi 7, Badelj 6.5 (19′ st Ekuban 6), Strootman 6 (19′ st Martin 6), Frendrup 5.5; Gudmundsson 5.5, Retegui 6.5.
Trainer: Gilardino 6
Atalanta (3-4-1-2): Carnesecchi 7; Djimsiti 6.5, Scalvini 6.5 (43′ st Toloi 6), Kolasinac 6; Holm 6 (12′ st Zappacosta 6.5), De Roon 6, Pasalic 7, Ruggeri 6; Koopmeiners 6.5; Scamacca 6 (12′ st Touré 6), De Ketelaere 7 (12′ st Miranchuk 6).
Trainer: Gasperini 6.5
Referee: Colombo
Markers: 22′ De Ketelaere (A), 6′ st Malinovskyi (G), 10′ st Koopmeiners (A), 45’+10 st Zappacosta (A), 45’+13 st Touré (A)
Warned: De Ketelaere (A), Strootman (G), Kolasinac (A), Bani (G), De Roon (A), Martin (G), Miranchuk (A)
Expelled: