Atalanta-Verona 1-0
GOAL: 37′ pt Zappacosta
ATALANTA (3-4-2-1): Carnesecchi 7.5; Scalvini 6.5, Djimsiti 7, Kolasinac 7 (31’st Hien 6.5); Zappacosta 7, De Roon 6.5 (43’st Samardzic sv), Ederson 6.5 (18’st Pasalic 6), Bernasconi 6.5; De Ketelaere 6 (31’st Musah 6.5), Zalewski 6.5 (18’st Raspadori 6); Krstovic 6. On the bench: Rossi, Sportiello, Kossounou, Bakker, Sulemana, Bellanova, Ahanor. Coach: Palladino 6.5.
HELLAS VERONA (3-5-2): Montipò 6.5; Nelsson 6, Edmundsson 6.5, Valentini 6; Belghali 5.5, Akpa Apro 6.5 (41’st Bernede 6), Gagliardini 5.5 (21’st Al Musrati 6), Harroui 6 (21’st Suslov 6.5), Frese 5.5 (1’st Oyegoke 6); Bowie 5 (33’st Sarr sv), Orban 6.5. On the bench: Perilli, Toniolo, Lirola, Slotsager, Mosquera, Niasse, Isaac, Fallou. Coach: Sammarco 6.
REFEREE: Ayroldi 6.5.
NOTES: pitch in good condition. Attendance: 22,087 Booked: Edmundsson, Valentini, Gagliardini, Hien. Corners 2-4. Recovery 1’pt, 4’st.
Atalanta returned to winning ways in the league after a month of abstinence, beating Verona 1-0 thanks to Zappacosta’s goal in the first half. The Nerazzurri have reached 50 points and are closing in on the European zone. It is the middle of the night, however, for the Gialloblù who remain in last place with 18 points and in the company of Pisa. Palladino, without Scamacca who stopped due to a muscle-fascial injury to his right adductor (but the attacker will still respond to Gattuso’s call), sent the best possible formation onto the pitch, with De Ketelaere and Zalewski behind Krstovic. Verona, desperate for safety points, deployed the classic 3-5-2, with Orban and Bowie as offensive references. Before the start of the match, Marten De Roon was honored for having reached 436 matches for the Nerazzurri, becoming the player with the most appearances in the club’s history. The hosts immediately raised the pace, Krstovic headed Montipò, who reacted to the Montenegrin’s deflection. Ederson also tried after a collective action, but the Brazilian’s slide was intercepted by Akpa Apro.
After constant and continuous dribbling on the perimeter, the Orobic advantage arrived: Zappacosta, after a series of rebounds, found the shot in the corner hole from the edge of the opponent’s area. In the second half the Scaligeri came close to equalizing on a poisonous cross from Frese which was not met by Bowie, Carnesecchi was able to deflect it for a corner. A few minutes later Atalanta reacted, but Krstovic’s lob, after a pass from De Ketelaere, ended up on the top of the crossbar. The low pace allowed Verona to think about the construction of the game, in the half hour Orban, with a turn in the area, came close to scoring the equalizer. The number 16 tried again a few minutes later, Carnesecchi opposed it once again. In the next round, after the break, the Bergamo players will play at Lecce’s home while Verona will host Fiorentina.
Bologna-Lazio 0-2
GOALS: 27′ and 37’st Taylor.
BOLOGNA (4-2-3-1): Ravaglia 6.5; Zortea 5.5 (44’st Ferguson sv), Vitik 6, Heggem 6 (30’st Lucumi 5.5), Miranda 6; Moro 5.5, Sohm 5.5; Orsolini 5 (17’st Dominguez 6), Bernardeschi 6 (30’st Dallinga), Rowe 6.5 (17’st Cambiaghi 6); Castro 6.5. On the bench: Pessina, Franceschelli, Helland, Freuler, Casale, Joao Mario, Lykogiannis. Coach: Italian 6.
LAZIO (4-3-3): Motta 6.5; Marusic 6, Gila 6 (26’st Provstgaard 6), Romagnoli 6, Nuno Tavares 5.5; Dele-Bashiru 5, Patric 5.5, Taylor 7; Isaksen 6.5 (17’st Cancellieri 6.5), Maldini 6 (17’st Dia 7), Pedro 5.5 (1’st Noslin 6.5). On the bench: Furlanetto, Giacomone, Pellegrini, Ratkov, Belahyane, Hysaj, Przyborek, Lazzari, Farcomeni. Coach: Ianni 6.5 (Sarri disqualified).
REFEREE: Feliciani from Teramo 6.5.
NOTES: pitch in excellent condition. Booked: Castro, Taylor. Corners: 2-1 for Bologna. Recovery: 2′; 4′.
Bologna lasts 70 minutes, Lazio emerges at the end and wins 2-0 at Dall’Ara in the match valid for the 30th matchday of Serie A. The match is decided by a brace from Kenneth Taylor in the second half of the second half. The Emilians, fresh from the Europa League marathon against Roma, field Orsolini, Bernardeschi and Rowe behind Castro. In the guests there is Pedro to complete the offensive trident with Isaksen and Maldini. In the 7th minute Rowe crossed into the area for Orsolini, who protested for an alleged contact with Romagnoli. Feliciani has no doubts and lets it go. Low pace and teams that were not very aggressive at the start, even if some initiative was visible. The most dangerous opportunity arises from the feet of Moro, who kicks powerfully and with effect from over 20 meters, hitting the intersection. Trouble for Lazio a few minutes later, when Gila was forced off due to a physical problem: Provstgaard took his place. At the end of the first half the guests try to take the field, but without causing any real fear. We go to half-time with the result 0-0.
The second half opens with a mistake by Dele-Bashiru, who sends Castro through on goal with a back pass. Motta intervenes on the way out and overwhelms the Argentine, causing a penalty about which Feliciani has no doubts. Orsolini shoots from eleven metres, but the young Biancoceleste goalkeeper immediately redeems himself, throwing himself to his right and blocking the ball in two stages. However, the rossoblù continue to play the game. A Lazio struggling to create surprisingly found the lead in the 72nd minute. Noslin serves Dia, who is very good at turning at the limit and finding Taylor, who beats Ravaglia with a flick. 0-1. Bologna shuts down, perhaps paying for the psycho-physical tiredness of the midweek match, while the guests are on the ball. Dia still had a hand in the second goal that came ten minutes later. The attacker who replaced Maldini served Taylor, who did well to beat Ravaglia and put the ball into the net to make it 0-2, a result which ended the match. Lazio finds their third consecutive success and overtakes Bologna in the standings, moving up to eighth place.