Atalanta vs Fiorentina: Serie A 2021-2022

Fiorentina took the trip up to Bergamo for their third game of the year. Following the win over Torino and a rather fragile start to the season from la Dea, there was certainly a bit of hope in the Viola camp despite a failure to win at the Gewiss since 2015, but the havoc wreaked by the international break meant that both teams were missing numerous starters, making things a bit difficult to predict.

The visitors, though, came out firing well, moving the ball effectively and creating chances that they weren’t quite able to finish, which was an obvious concern; when you’re up against Serie A’s best attack, you’d better make your opportunities count, because Atalanta can score goals in a hurry. It was finally Dušan Vlahović who struck from the spot after an unfortunate handball from Joakim Mæhle gave him a chance just before halftime.

Giacomo Bonvantura won the second penalty after a glaringly obvious foul from Berit Djimsiti, and Dušan maintained his perfect record from 12 yards out since the start of last season to double the lead. La Dea pushed forward and earned a consolation penalty of their own via Duván Zapata after a needless foul from José Callejón. It took a couple of nice stops from backup goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano, but it felt like the Viola probably deserved the 3 points more than Atalanta despite Gian Piero Gasperini’s wholly expected whinging about the stone-cold penalty decisions.