Atalanta's strong start to the season continues

Duvan Zapata returned to the starting lineup for Atalanta after coming off the bench in their recent fixture against AS Roma. Sassuolo’s forward Domenico Berardi came into this match with great form, scoring five goals this season. As for Atalanta, Alejandro Gomez has started strong for Atalanta with three assists.

Each team had a scoring chance in the first five minutes of the match, however, Atalanta delivered the first goal of the match. Gomez scored a great individual effort on the left side of the field going through multiple defenders before finding the back of the net and making it an early 1-0 lead for Atalanta. Sassuolo allowed the midfielder plenty of space where he was able to capitalize and score.  

After Gomez opened the scoring, it allowed Atalanta to settle down and dictate the game afterwards.

Sassuolo’s poor defence in the backfield continued to give them trouble in the early stages of the game. Atalanta’s strong play continued and at the 13th minute they scored again. After a good effort from Josip Ilicic, Robin Gosens received a nice pass before taking a deflection where he scored to gain a 2-0 lead. Sassuolo continues to start the game very poor as they struggle to play good defense and create opportunities in the early going of the match.

Zapata missed a great chance at the 24th minute after Vlad Chiriches misplayed the pass which ended up to Zapata. The striker had a clear break, however, Andrea Consigli made a great save to keep it 2-0.

Atalanta continued to dominate the game as they scored their third goal in the match at the 29th minute.

Zapata received a nice pass in the box and the defence gave the striker ample space to pass it to Gomez who made a great run to receive the pass and score to make it 3-0. The defence continues their struggles against Atalanta, making it easy for them to score.

At the 35th minute, Atalanta made sure that Sassuolo weren’t coming back in the match. Hans Hateboer’s strong play in the game continued as the right back had a nice run down the right side where he crossed the ball into the box. Zapata made a great effort by beating off Chiriches and headed the ball into the back of the net.

In the second half, at the 62nd minute, Sassuolo scored their first goal of the game from Gregoire Defrel. Although they broke the clean sheet, it was the only goal Sassulo managed to score in the match. It was an all-around poor effort from the Neroverdi and they will want to forget this match. They must fix their defensive struggles if they want to have a better outcome in their matches going forward.

As for Atalanta, their start to the Serie A season has been strong and they will look to continue that success in their next matchup in the Champions League.

Takeaways of the match

Sassuolo’s defence continues to struggle this season as Chiriches had a poor outing against Atalanta where he was responsible for three of Sassuolo’s four goals. The defender was poor picking up his man and this was shown when Zapata scored the fourth goal of the game with no trouble.

Scoring has not been a problem so far for Atalanta as they continue to find the back of the net. Their match against Sassuolo witnessed Gian Piero Gasperini’s men playing well together and moving the ball cohesively. Atalanta seems to have found good chemistry and are working hard for their goals. The team now have 15 goals on the season which is the most in Serie A at the moment.

Stand-out players

After coming off the bench in his previous game against AS Roma, Zapata started in this match versus Sassuolo. Throughout the match, Zapata delivered a strong effort upfront, getting shots on goal and capitalizing on his opportunities, scoring one goal and one assist.  After this game, the forward now has five goals and one assist this season.

Gomez also had a strong performance, scoring two goals against Sassuolo. The midfielder opened the scoring with a great individual effort beating many defenders and then unleashing a strong shot to find the back of the net. The Atalanta midfielder now has two goals and three assists this season.