(PRIMASPORT) Fiorentina and Atalanta tried to win, but ultimately shared the spoils. The 2-2 draw didn't satisfy either team, but the performances of both teams comforted their respective coaches. In terms of chances, the most obvious ones were created by Atalanta, with De Gea making a couple of decisive saves late in the first and second halves. The first quarter of an hour showed Fiorentina consistently advancing into Atalanta's half, with the Viola keeping their center of gravity low to contain their pace and mobility. Things changed after the first twenty minutes, when Sarri's team created their first chance thanks to a De Ketelaere strike, who took control while his teammates took their opponents' measure. Paradoxically, Fiorentina had more than twice as many shots as Atalanta, but the latter were decidedly more precise and lethal. De Ketelaere sealed the lead late in the first half by starting and finishing off a combination move with Zalewski, before then putting the ball over to Krstović's head that could have doubled the lead. The Belgian hadn't scored in the league since last January. After halftime, Fiorentina pushed forward as they had at the start of the match, managing to turn the score around, but were forced to endure Atalanta's forceful comeback, with Zalewski finding the net to make it 2-2. With Rowe's introduction, De Ketelaere continued to offer his talents, using his technique and vision to make the difference. While Vanoli credits the team with a strong performance, Sarri sees a vibrant team in a sea of difficulty. Because while he brought Scalvini and Sulemana back onto the pitch, Kristensen's sudden injury and Gaetano's condition, which needs to be monitored, risk lengthening the list of unavailable players.
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Fiorentina, fresh from defeats against Inter and Como, fielded Of Gea between the posts, four-man defense with Jimenez, Dragusin, Viery e Joao Mario, in midfield Ndour, Beans e Brescianini, offensive trident composed of Mastantuono, Pilgrim e Njie. Sarri confirms the 4-2-3-1 with forced choices in front of Carnesecchi, with Kristense and Obric central defenders, Zappacosta and Bernasconi on the lanes. In the middle Ederson e Gaetano, on the three-quarter line Elmas, Of Ketelaere e Zalewski in support of Krstovic.
After just two minutes, Sarri also lost Kristensen to a muscle strain and had to resort to the returning Scalvini. Fiorentina approached Carnesecchi with a low, curling shot from Pellegrino that went wide. The Viola pressed, and Atalanta emerged from their own half only a dozen minutes later. In the 14th minute, the ball was passed to the right to Mastantuono, who engaged in a duel with Bernasconi and fired into the left corner of Carnesecchi's box, which was parried out for a corner. The first chance for the Bergamo side in the 19th minute came from a forward pass that found De Ketelaere, whose low cross into the center of the area provided an assist for Elmas. A moving penalty struck Viery. After De Ketelaere's cross-shot crossed the entire Viola area, Scalvini at the other end deflected Jemenez's pass wide for Pellegrino. In the 26th minute, Krstovic found De Ketelare in front of De Gea, but the Belgian made a glaring mistake before the offside flag was raised. In the 29th minute, Carnesecchi responded with his foot after a double deflection on a shot from Ndour. In the 36th minute, Zappacosta played it from the right to Zalewski, who then passed to Elmas, who saw Gaetano run into the box and shoot over the crossbar. Two minutes later, Mastantuono attacked deep on the right, cut inside, and fired a left-footed shot just wide of the top corner. In the 41st minute, Gaetano won the ball back in midfield and played it to De Ketelaere, who played Zalewski forward and advanced to receive the pass and score with a low shot to the left of De Gea, who 90 seconds later made a feline save on a header from Krstovic, set up by a brilliant De Ketelaere. The Viola attempted to respond with a header from Pellegrino that deflected over.
At halftime, La Penna, who was struggling with injury, exchanged whistles with fourth official Marinelli. Vanoli replaced Fagioli with Oulaï as playmaker. In the third minute, Mastantuono earned a free kick from the edge of the area, which grazed the post to Carnesecchi's left. In the fifth minute, Gaetano, while retreating, took the ball from Brescianini before he could fire on goal. Fiorentina equalized in the eighth minute, following a cross from Jemenez from the right. Njie headed the ball past Zappacosta at the far post and past Carnesecchi. In the 19th minute, Viery closed down the space opened by De Ketelaere. In the 12th minute, Sarri brought on Pasalic and Rowe for Gaetano and Elmas, with Zalewski moving to the right. In the 16th minute, Fiorentina turned the tables with a shot from Joao Mario deflected by Obric, sending Carnesecchi the wrong way. In the 20th minute, De Ketelaere's dummy allowed Krstovic to advance and find space for a shot, but it didn't hit the target. In the 24th minute, Gnonto came on for Njie. Before the half-hour mark, Zalewski made it 2-2, receiving the ball from De Ketelaere and surprising De Gea with a low shot that just missed the post. In the 36th minute, Carnesecchi grabbed the ball from Joao Mario. Late in, Sarri brought on Sulemana for Zalewski. With one minute to go, Gnonto over-achieved, while De Gea stretched out and parried De Ketelaere's curling shot. At the start of stoppage time, Vanoli brought on Mastantuono and Pellegrino to bring on Gonçalves and Beto, who headed wide in the 47th minute.
FIORENTINA-ATALANTA 2-2
Fiorentina (4-3-3): De Gea 6.5 Jimenez 6.5 Dragusin 6 Viery 6 Joao Mario 6.5 Ndour 5.5 Fagioli 5 (1' st Oulaï 6) Brescianini 5.5 Mastantuono 6.5 (45' st Pedro Gonçalves n/a) Pellegrino 5 (45' sr Beto n/a) Njie 6.5 (24' st Gnonto 5.5). Subs: Lezzerini, Christensen, Dodô, Valdepeñas, Mazzeo, Pirrò, Beldenti. Coach: Paolo Vanoli.
Atalanta (4-2-3-1): Carnesecchi 6 Zappacosta 6 Kristensen n/a (3' pt Scalvini 6) Obric 6 Bernasconi 5.5 Ederson 6 Gaetano 6 (12' st Pasalic 6) Elmas 6 (12' st Rowe 6) De Ketelaere 7.5 Zalewski 7 (39' st Sulemana n/a) Krstovic 6. Subs: Sonzogni, Sportiello, Samardžić, Idele, Plaia. Coach: Maurizio Sarri
Referee: La Penna 6 – from 1' st Marinelli 6 Assistants: Bahri and Moro 4th official; Marinelli (from 1' st La Penna) VAR Matteo Gariglio VAR Federico Dionisi
Goalscorers: 1st half 41' De Ketelaere; 2nd half 8' Njie; 16' Joao Mario; 29' Zalewski
Ammonites: Elmas, Gnonto, Obric
Recovery: 2, 3 (PRIMASPORT)