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Atalanta came off the starting blocks fast in this season’s Champions League, as they began their European campaign with a 4-0 win over Midtjylland.
Conditions made the opening minutes cautious as a downpour made the surface difficult for both sides to negotiate, but it was Bergamaschi who finally made the most of it.
The Danes enjoyed a brief period of dominance in the first ten minutes, but never forced Marco Sportiello into action, which Atalanta soon made them pay.
Duvan Zapata had threatened twice by hitting the post and forcing a save from Jesper Hansen, while Robin Gosens had fired an effort just shortly before Atalanta opened the scoring. It was the Colombian who scored the first goal of the match and, like last season, scored La Dea’s first in the campaign’s competition. A cross from the right found Cristian Romero who nodded in the forward’s path, allowing him to get in before finishing in front of Hansen.
Papu Gómez got the second from Atalanta in an impressive way. Marten de Roon broke a play by Midtjylland down the middle line to push the Italians forward. After a series of passes, Zapata threw his captain who, from 25 yards, took a bunt and hit a shot over the bottom of the crossbar.
However, Gian Piero Gasperini’s team is not known for sitting down and they continued in their quest for goals. They didn’t have to wait long before another South American celebrated a third.
Another well-crafted play ended with Gosens setting Zapata up for a shot and his effort was parried in the way of compatriot Luis Muriel, who took advantage of close proximity to extend the Nerazzurri’s lead.
Three should have turned into four before the break as Remo Freuler missed a great opportunity. The Swiss dispossessed Jens Cajuste on the edge of the Danes’ penalty area when they were looking to play from behind, but, trying to surround Hansen, the goalkeeper stopped him.
The second half was considerably slower than the first, with the hosts involved in some damage limitation and Atalanta looking to use their advantage to make some changes.
Josip Ilicic was called up to continue his comeback after making his comeback in Napoli on Saturday, while Mario Pasalic was also featured while Luis Muriel and Papu Gómez were allowed to rest.
Zapata sent a whimsical effort over the bar before Pasalic almost had an immediate impact. Passed by Romero, the Croatian jumped into the area passing a defender, but could only shoot directly at Hansen.
The two alternates were combined shortly after when Ilicic passed. At the end of a one-two, the Slovenian was about to open his account for 2020/21 but Hansen turned his shot to the vertical and wide.
Aleksei Miranchuk also joined Ilicic off the bench for what was his debut for the club and marked the occasion with a good fourth. Found by the Slovenian on the edge of the area, the Russian tapped before launching a perfect left-footed shot into Hansen’s top corner.
The Atalanta post started immediately with a resounding victory on the opening day of the Champions League that first appeared on Forza Italian Football.
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com
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