GENOA. A lackluster Atalanta fails to overcome Genoa’s solid defense and does not go beyond a goalless draw at the ‘Ferraris’, missing the appointment with the three points for the second game in a row. Now the Nerazzurri, who close the first round in 4th place with 38 points, have a 4-point advantage over fifth Juventus.
The Goddess starts strong with great rhythm and high pressing, often putting the hosts in difficulty, especially in the exit of the ball from the defense. At 5 ‘Zapata, found vertically by Miranchuk, kicks first but finds Sirigu’s reactive response. As the minutes pass, Genoa takes courage, improves the distance between the departments and blocks almost all the initiatives of the guests, trying to build something especially with Ekuban’s gallops and Badelj’s ideas. Atalanta instead relies on individual shots, by Malinovskyi or Koopmeiners, but always without concreteness and precision. In the first half final, then, the unexpected mishap: in managing a ball Duvan Zapata feels the adductor pull and asks for a change: Luis Muriel in his place.
Just Muriel passes the interval on the pitch to warm up but in the second half he still fails to affect making his compatriot regret. The Goddess tries again with Koopmeiners from outside, then with a couple of entries into the area of Muriel’s own and then with a header from Demiral. Genoa’s wall holds up without particular problems, even attempting some restarts with the Destro-Ekuban couple. Gasperini tries to change the fate of the match with the entries of De Roon, Ilicic and Pasalic but without success. Probably the most dangerous action of the entire match arrives at 81 ‘and two defenders pack it: cross from Djimsiti, excellent insertion and header from Demiral which, however, ends out of a good position. A few minutes later Muriel tries again, but his right foot comes out.