Serie A

Football Italia

·3 March 2024

Serie A | Atalanta 1-2 Bologna: Thiago takes it all

Bologna consolidated fourth place with a sixth straight victory, fighting back from the Ademola Lookman opener to beat Atalanta with Joshua Zirkzee and Lewis Ferguson strikes.

This was a head-to-head for fourth place with only two points separating them, while Thiago Motta took on his mentor Gian Piero Gasperini. La Dea were still smarting from the midweek rescheduled 4-0 defeat to Inter and gave Ademola Lookman his first start since AFCON. The Rossoblu were coming off five consecutive victories and Adama Soumaoro was the only absentee.

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Charles De Ketelaere had a huge chance in the opening 90 seconds, firing over from 12 yards on a Matteo Ruggeri low cross from the left.

Lukasz Skorupski got his glove to a Lookman cross-shot, with the Davide Zappacosta follow-up charged down by Victor Kristiansen, while Riccardo Orsolini blasted straight at Marco Carnesecchi from distance.

Atalanta broke the deadlock when Davide Zappacosta’s angled drive was palmed away by Skorupski, it ricocheted off a Bologna body and into the path of Lookman to score from seven yards.

Great play from Ademola Lookman in the build-up and he's rewarded with a goal to give Atalanta the lead 💪 pic.twitter.com/By5FL60Dm1 — Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 3, 2024

Lookman threatened another on the counter-attack, but Sam Beukema managed to block the shot for a corner.

Thiago Motta made a double change at half-time, introducing Alexis Saelemaekers and Jhon Lucumi, switching Dan Ndoye to the other flank.

Bologna thought they had equalised on 54 minutes with Riccardo Calafiori’s bullet header from a corner, but Carnesecchi just about managed to prevent it going over the line with a double save.

They did get back on level terms soon after, as Zirkzee sent Saelemaekers through and he was tripped by Koopmeiners for a penalty. Zirkzee rolled it into the bottom corner, sending Carnesecchi the wrong way.

Bologna turned the game around completely, as after a well-worked move from left to right, Ndoye’s effort was charged down, becoming an accidental assist for Ferguson’s low right-foot volley from the edge of the D.

WHAT A HIT ☄️ — Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 3, 2024

Kristiansen threw himself in the path of a Marten de Roon scorcher as Atalanta pinned the visitors back into their own half.

Aleksei Miranchuk’s curler was deflected wide and a Gianluca Scamacca header on the resulting corner charged down, though Carnesecchi had to keep the scoreline down with a low save on Ferguson’s counter-attack.

Roma leapfrogged them.