Turin-Milan 1-2
GOALS: 19′ st Cissè, 22′ st Rabiot, 48′ st Adams.
TURIN (3-4-2-1): Mascardi 6; Coco 5, Ismajli 5.5, Comuzzo 5.5 (40′ st Kulenovic sv); Pedersen 5 (25′ st Fortini 6), Fitz-Jim 6, Gineitis 6, Cacciamani 5.5 (36′ st Aboukhlal 5); Vlasic 5.5, Casadei 5 (25′ st Njie 6.5); Simeone 5.5 (25′ st Adams 7.5). On the bench: Paleari, Siviero; Biraghi, Dembelé, Pellini, Ilkhan, Luongo, Oristanio, Zapata. Coach: Abate 6.
MILAN (3-4-2-1): Maignan 6; Gila 6.5 (31′ st Gabbia sv), De Winter 6.5, Pavlovic 6.5; Chukwueze 7, Musah 6.5, Jashari 6 (11′ st Modric 6), Estupinan 6 (20′ st Saelemaekers 6); Loftus-Cheek 5.5 (11′ st Rabiot 7.5), Cissè 7.5 (20′ st Bartesaghi 6); Ramos 5.5. On the bench: Bouyer, Torriani, Diawara, Terracciano, Comotto, Moreira, Pulisic, Ricci, Camarda. Coach: Amorim 7.
REFEREE: Zufferli of Udine 6.
NOTES: clear sky, pitch in good condition. Booked: Loftus-Cheek. Corners: 4-2 for Milan. Recovery: 0′; 4′.
TURIN – Amorim’s Milan started well, the Rossoneri conquered Grande Torino within three minutes. It all happens midway through the second half, when Rabiot enters and sets up the assist for Cissé – the 19-year-old Italian talent loved by the Neo-Portuguese coach who breaks the deadlock – and then scores the second from Chukwueze’s cross. Abate’s Toro defends well for an hour and collapses under the blows of the Devil, tries to get back up with the entry of Njie and shortens with Adams when it is too late. Abate and Amorim line up in a mirror image, both coaches aim for 3-4-2-1: the Granata relaunches the ten-eleventh of their debut in the Italian Cup against Carrarese and replaces the suspended Comert with Ismajli, the Portuguese prefers De Winter to Gabbia and leaves Modric on the bench. Leading the attacks are the two strikers, Simeone on one side and Ramos on the other, while in the attacking midfield Amorim chooses Cissé, born in 2006, to accompany Loftus-Cheek. At the Grande Torino we see the Curva Maratona full again with the return of organized support, before the race another demonstration was organized against president Cairo: from Philadelphia to the stadium a thousand fans marched behind the banner “Cairo go away” with the soundtrack of protest chants against the management of the patron, absent as against Carrarese. Amorim’s team starts immediately with a high and suffocating pressing, after two minutes Loftus-Cheek attempts a cross shot and at the far post there is Cissé who hits the outside of the net from a tight angle. The Rossoneri continue to try and in the 6th minute the visiting fans remember captain Baresi who passed away at the end of July, Toro defends with order and goalkeeper Mascardi is always careful with his fists to repel the high balls that pass his way. And even between the posts he replies “present”, when after half an hour Chukwueze finishes in the mirror at the end of a personal serpentine. In the Maignan area, however, no dangers ever arrive, but Abate returns to the locker room satisfied with his team’s defensive phase. At the beginning of the second half we see Toro with a free kick from Fitz-Jim, Coco and Simeone’s rebound which narrowly misses the deflection at the far post. After an hour of play Amorim makes the first moves: Modric and Rabiot in, Loftus-Cheek (warned a few moments before) and Jashari out. The Rossoneri protested after a suspicious touch by Vlasic in the area following a cross from Cissé, referee Zufferli consulted the VAR on the headset and only awarded the corner. Within three minutes, Milan put it in the safe thanks to Rabiot: the Frenchman first serves Cissé who is very good at beating Mascardi with a right-footed shot, then he himself doubles the lead on Chukwueze’s cross. Abate tries to take cover by inserting Fortini, Adams and Njie in one go, the Norwegian presents himself with an overwhelming personal action which ends on the outside post. The class of 2005 is also unleashed in the 83rd minute, when the substitute Aboukhlal serves and kicks out from an excellent position. Adams makes it 1-2 in the third of three minutes of injury time, now it’s too late to hope for a comeback: Toro falls on their debut in front of their fans, Amorim’s Milan starts off on the right foot.
Atalanta-Sassuolo 2-1
GOALS: 6′ pt Raspadori; 10′ st Odenthal, 20′ st Krstovic.
ATALANTA (4-3-3): Carnesecchi 7; Zappacosta 6, Kossounou 5.5, Scalvini 6, Bernasconi 6 (26′ st Kolasinac 6); Pasalic 6 (15′ st Samardzic 6.5), Gaetano 7, Ederson 6; Zalewski 6.5 (15′ st De Ketelaere 6), Scamacca 6 (15′ st Krstovic 7.5), Raspadori 7 (37′ st Elmas sv). On the bench: Sportiello, Vismara, I.Sulemana, De Roon, Bellanova, Obric, Cassa. Coach: Sarri 7. SASSUOLO (4-3-3): Muric 6.5; Cinquegrano 5.5, Odenthal 6.5, Macchioni 5 (29′ st Leysen 6), Doig 6; Adzic 5.5 (19′ st Thorstvedt 6), Matic 6 (29′ st Dominguez 6), Bakola 6; Volpato 6 (43′ st Ciervo sv), Bowie 5 (43′ st Kulla sv), Laurentié 5. On the bench: Turati, Missori, Ghion, Idzes, Di Bitonto, Nuamah, Obrador, Lipani, Iannoni, Pierini. Coach: Aquilani 6.
REFEREE: Crezzini of Siena 6.
NOTES: pitch in good condition. Spectators: 20,828. No warnings. Corners: 4-4. Recovery: 1′; 5′.
A recovery like a festival of errors, from which the most technical one emerges as the winner. Odenthal responds to the former Raspadori, Macchioni gives Krstovic the new advantage and it ends like this, 2-1 for Atalanta over Sassuolo, despite the greater brilliance and fluidity of maneuvering of the guests. Atalanta in the championship, making their debut, is only intermittently faster than that in the Conference League five days after the return against Hapoel. Sassuolo forced them on the defensive for the entire second half of the first half, found the equalizer at the start of the second and only succumbed to their own defensive misreading. Raspadori opened the score in the 6th minute with the help of the underside of the left crossbar at the invitation of Gaetano, who did well to win the duel with Laurienté following a cross from Zappacosta. Bowie’s response, who raises his left foot to follow Doig in the tenth, triggers the Bergamo attacks again. Zalewski, served between Scamacca’s lines, forces Muric to close the post; around 19′, the scorer was stopped on the counterattack by Odenthal and Ederson’s long-range right-footed shot was blocked by Matic. The neroverdi live on the Volpato-Bakola axis, left in the line at 25′, and Laurienté. After forcing Carnesecchi to raise his shot from the top for a corner, he cuts towards the right to trigger Adzic, who is closed again by the home goalkeeper in the 32nd minute. The locals, stopped by Zappacosta’s running right foot which whistles over the crossbar in the 26th minute, move back too much and Carnesecchi has to bother with Adzic, a weak turn in the 40th minute assisted by Volpato who within three minutes of slalom unloads his right foot into the fists of the last obstacle. The second half starts in the 5th minute with a back-and-forth between Laurienté, who raises another chance in the Curva Sud, wasting Adzic’s assist, and Ederson who only finds the third corner. In the tenth, however, Kossounou with a backward header extends the throw with Doig’s hands for Odenthal to make it 1-1. At the hour mark, Laurienté again wriggled well from the wing, but in front of Carnesecchi he ate the pass by kicking high again. Matic comes close to scoring from outside, but then Macchioni combines disaster with the same home gift, deflecting Carnesecchi’s clearance with his head until he unmarks Krstovic who in the 20th minute counterattacks past Muric with a lob effect thanks also to a deflection from the defender. Aquilani switches to 4-2-3-1 with Dominguez high on the left. In the final Sarri makes Elmas’ debut, made official yesterday, and Krstovic doesn’t cross well to seal the score in the 37th minute. De Ketelaere, substitution for Zalewski, misses the measurement of all the passes. The last thrill in the 3rd minute of injury time comes from Cinquegrano who volleys a possible equalizer into the side net from Doig’s cross.