Sassuolo-Atalanta 2-1
GOALS: 23’st Kone, 24’st Thorstvedt, 43’st Musah.
SASSUOLO (4-3-3): Muric 7.5; Coulibaly 7, Idzes 6.5, Muharemovic 6, Garcia 6.5; Kone 7 (44’st Doig sv), Matic 6 (29’st Lipani 6), Thorstvedt 7.5; Berardi 6.5 (28’st Nzola 6), Pinamonti 4, Lauriente 7 (28’st Fadera sv, 34’st Iannoni sv). On the bench: Satalino, Turati, Zacchi, Romagna, Vranckx, Volpato, Moro. Coach: Grosso 7.
ATALANTA (3-4-2-1): Carnesecchi 6.5; Scalvini 5.5, Djimsiti 6 (30’st Hien 6), Kolasinac 5; Bellanova 6 (1’st Zappacosta 6.5), De Roon 5, Pasalic 5, Bernasconi 6 (1’st Sulemana 6); Samardzic 5, Zalewski 5.5 (22’st Musah 6.5); Scamacca 5.5 (1’st Krstovic 6). On the bench: Rossi, Sportiello, Kossounou, Bakker, Vavassori. Coach: Palladino 5.5.
REFEREE: Marchetti from Ostia Lido 6.
NOTES: foggy afternoon, pitch in fair condition. Expelled: Pinamonti in the 16th minute for dangerous play. Booked: Idzes, Bernasconi, Grosso, Matic, Zalewski. Angles: 3-9. Recovery time: 2’+1, 6’+1′.
Atalanta paid the price for their European efforts and slowed down at the Mapei Stadium, losing 2-1 against Sassuolo. In fact, Grosso’s neroverdi took home the three points, despite a game played with ten men from the 16th minute, due to the direct red card given by Pinamonti. Sassuolo finds a goal early: first Kone scores, then Thorstvedt. For the Goddess, however, it is Musah who shortens the score in the final. From the episode of the expulsion onwards, paradoxically, Atalanta seemed to be the team in numerical inferiority. Palladino’s boys woke up too late and only had the best opportunities after conceding the 2-0. However, Atalanta had the first big chance of the match in the 10th minute with Zalewski, whose right-footed shot went just wide. A minute later, however, it was Sassuolo’s turn, but Thorstdvedt’s header was stopped by a great save from Carnesecchi. At 16′ here is the key episode of the first half. Following a bad intervention with the hammer foot on Djimsiti, Marchetti draws a direct red card for Pinamonti. With the extra man the game seems to be going downhill for Atalanta. From here on, however, it was the neroverdi who played better, while the nerazzurri, as the minutes passed, struggled to find outlets in the offensive zone.
In the 23rd minute Grosso’s boys found the lead to make it 1-0: from a Laurientè corner, Kone came out in the small area and headed past Carnesecchi. At the end of the half, again through the air, Muharemovic came close to doubling the score. Upon returning from the changing rooms Palladino changes the starting line-up, inserting Krstovic, Sulemana and Zappacosta. The two wingers give Atalanta greater verve, but the home team’s wall still doesn’t collapse and, indeed, it is the Dea defense that struggles several times following Laurientè’s outbursts. The 2-0 goal for Sassuolo was born precisely from a counterattack by the French winger: Thorstvedt collected his assist from the edge of the area and unleashed a precise right-footed shot that went under the top corner. After opportunities from Krstovic and Samardzic, saved by Muric, Atalanta closed the gap in the 88th minute, thanks to Musah’s winning insertion. Proudly the Nerazzurri came close to making it a sensational 2-2, but Muric again miraculously deflected Scalvini’s header onto the crossbar. An Atalanta lacking energy loses important points in the chase for the Champions League zone, now five points away even if Roma can further extend their lead in the event of a victory against Juventus. Sassuolo, on the other hand, is in eighth place, with 38 points.
Turin-Lazio 2-0
Goals: 21′ Simeone, 53′ Zapata.
TURIN (3-5-2): Paleari 6.5; Coco 6.5, Ismajli 6, Ebosse 6.5; Lazaro 6.5, Gineitis 6 (23’st Ilic 6), Prati 6.5 (40’st Tameze sv), Vlasic 6, Obrador 7 (27’st Nkounkou 6); Simeone 7 (39’st Kulenovic sv), Zapata 6.5 (28’st Casadei 6). On the bench: Israel, Siviero, Maripan, Anjorin, Pedersen, Adams, Biraghi, Marianucci, Njie. Coach: D’Aversa 6.5.
LAZIO (4-3-3): Provedel 5.5; Marusic 5.5, Romagnoli 5.5, Provstgaard 5, Pellegrini 4.5 (20’st Tavares 6); Belahyane 6 (1’st Dele-Bashiru 6), Cataldi 6, Taylor 5; Cancellieri 5 (20’st Isaksen 6), Ratkov 5 (1’st Noslin 6), Zaccagni 6 (35’st Dia sv). On the bench: Motta, Furlanetto, Patric, Przyborek, Lazzari, Farcomeni. Coach: Sarri 5.5.
REFEREE: Abyss of Palermo 6.
NOTES: clear evening, terrain in fair condition. Booked: Gineitis, Vlasic, Tameze, Kulenovic, Tavares. Angles: 6-9. Recovery: 1′; 4′
With Roberto D’Aversa first on the Granata bench, Torino beat Lazio 2-0 at home on the 27th matchday of Serie A. The Simeone-Zapata tandem was decisive, scoring in the 21st and 53rd minutes respectively, bringing the Piedmontese back to success after exactly one month. Torino rises to 30 points, extending the relegation zone occupied by Lecce to +6. Lazio is empty and sterile in the attacking phase. Third consecutive match without scoring for Maurizio Sarri’s team, which remains stuck in tenth place with 34 points. Next day Lazio will host Sassuolo at the Olimpico (9 March at 8.45pm). In between the Italian Cup semi-final with Atalanta (4 March 9.00 pm), the last remaining chance to secure a place in Europe next season. Torino will be playing in Naples on March 6th at 8.45pm. In a semi-deserted Olimpico Grande Torino, due to the protest of the Granata fans, the home team started off strong and became dangerous in the 6th minute with a right-footed shot from distance by Prati. Lazio had few offensive ideas, practically nothing from Paleari during the first half, which went down in the 21st minute.
Percussion from Zapata, who tries to kick from the edge of the area, triggering a rebound. Loose ball where Simeone manages to get in, taking advantage of a misunderstanding between Pellegrini and Provedel, making it 1-0 Torino. D’Aversa’s team keeps control of the game and only risks in the 37th minute with Coco’s save following a low shot from Belahyane in the penalty area. Torino continues to play the game and finds the second goal at the start of the second half: from the left Obrador catches Zapata in the area, who in the 53rd minute beats Provedel with a header for the 2-0. Immediate reaction from Lazio, who tested Paleari for the first time with a right-footed shot from Noslin in the 55th minute. Simeone came close to scoring a hat-trick in the 67th minute, while the Biancocelesti came close to scoring with Dele-Bashiru’s sure shot blocked by a split save from Ebosse. In the final, Paleari saves from Romagnoli’s header, certifying a crucial success in terms of salvation for Torino.