Atalanta makes no impression in the run-up to a squatter with...

Atalanta experienced a painful dress-up on Saturday afternoon in the run-up to the Champions League match with Ajax. The team of trainer Gian Piero Gasperini was surprisingly beaten in-house by Sampdoria, which proved extremely effective with his created chances: 1-3. At Atalanta, Marten de Roon and Sam Lammers started in the base, after an hour of play Hans Hateboer also came on.

The home team was already behind after thirteen minutes. The now 37-year-old Fabio Quagliarella got the ball on the left side of the box, sent his opponent into the woods with a pair of scissors, and blasted the short corner with a devastating shot: 1-0. Shortly afterwards, Lammers got a dangerous shooting opportunity, but the former PSV player saw his shot blocked at the last moment.

Moments later, Josip Ilicic saw a threatening attempt on the equalizing goal by goalkeeper Emil Audero. Atalanta was then unable to push through and was given a penalty just before half time, when Johan Mojica got the ball very unhappily against the hand. Quagliarella barely sent the penalty kick into the corner and saw goalkeeper Marco Sportiello save.

Fifteen minutes after the break, Atalanta still received the second goal against. Jakub Jankto put the ball from midfield at the far post, where former sc Heerenveen midfielder Morten Thorsby headed in with a diving dive: 0-2. Atalanta tried with a shot from the edge of Robin Gosens’ box, which went just wide, but was otherwise quite impotent. Another very unfortunate handball, this time on the side of Sampdoria, brought back the tension in the final phase. Duván Zapata completed the job from the penalty spot: 1-2.

Alejandro Gomez was still close to the equalizer, but saw his shot go wide from the edge of the box. In injury time Atalanta was slaughtered in the counter. Jankto was served on the right side of the box and sent the ball flawlessly into the far corner with the left: 1-3.