Football Italia
·19 August 2024
Serie A | Lecce 0-4 Atalanta: New buys make dream full debut
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Football Italia
·19 August 2024
Despite missing so many key players, Atalanta swept Lecce aside 4-0 with a brace each for new buys Marco Brescianini and Mateo Retegui.
La Dea were in a dire mood coming into this game, as after Wednesday’s 2-0 UEFA Super Cup defeat to Real Madrid, Ademola Lookman joined Teun Koopmeiners in refusing to play so he could force through a transfer. El Bilal Toure was on the verge of joining Stuttgart, with Nicolò Zaniolo, Gianluca Scamacca, Rafael Toloi, Sead Kolasinac and Giorgio Scalvini injured. Brescianini was thrown straight into the starting XI for his debut. Lecce missed Mohamed Kaba and Joan Gonzalez, but started their season with a 2-1 Coppa Italia victory over Mantova.
It was a very aggressive Lecce start, with Isak Hien charging down a Rafia shot in the opening 10 seconds, but Atalanta started to emerge as time wore on.
Davide Zappacosta saw a fantastic half-volley skim the upright from outside the box, then Charles De Ketelaere saw his header well parried by Wladimiro Falcone, firing the rebound across the face of goal.
Zappacosta got the volley wrong again on a Matteo Ruggeri cross, while Patrick Dorgu scuffed a counter-attack after sprinting onto the Hamza Rafia through ball.
Atalanta broke the deadlock when Nikola Krstovic got a counter-attack wrong, allowing Zappacosta to whip in the cross for a Mateo Retegui header, as Falcone parried and could do nothing on the Brescianini follow-up. It was the ideal debut just days after completing his transfer from Frosinone, especially considering six days ago he was having a medical for Napoli instead.
They doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time, as Ruggeri’s cross found the Retegui towering header that beat Falcone.
Lecce tried to fight back, Valentin Gendrey mistiming the free header on an Antonino Gallo cross, but Falcone flew to palm a ferocious Ederson finish over the bar. Just before that move, Lassana Coulibaly had tried to anticipate Retegui, but ended up stepping on his foot. A penalty was awarded after a VAR review, which Retegui converted to complete his brace.
There was a double for Brescianini too, who sprung the offside trap on a Mario Pasalic through ball and kept his cool to sweep into the far bottom corner with the inside of the right boot.
Brescianini could’ve had a hat-trick when again sent clear by Pasalic, but tried to return the pass and it was eventually deflected inches wide.
Lecce kept pushing too, Juan Musso making a brave save on Lameck Banda and Federico Baschirotto’s header skimming the upright.
Brescianini 35, 66 (A), Retegui 45, pen 57 (A)
Lecce: Falcone; Gendrey, Gaspar, Baschirotto, Gallo; Ramadani (Marchwinski 76), Pierret (Coulibaly 46); Morente (Banda 46), Rafia (M Berisha 83), Dorgu; Krstovic (Pierotti 68)
Atalanta: Musso; Djimsiti, Hien, De Roon; Zappacosta (Godfrey 68), Ederson, Pasalic (Sulemana 89), Ruggeri; Brescianini (Palestra 89); De Ketelaere (Bakker 68), Retegui (Cassa 83)