Football Italia
·2 June 2024
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·2 June 2024
An Andrea Belotti brace helped Fiorentina beat Atalanta 3-2 in the last game of the Serie A campaign, in which Giorgio Scalvini suffered a suspected knee injury.
Fiorentina beat Atalanta 3-2 at the Gewiss Stadium on Sunday in a match that had been called off in March after the Tuscans’ director Joe Barone suffered a heart attack which caused his tragic death two days later.
Fiorentina travelled to Bergamo on the back of a 1-0 loss in the Conference League Final on Wednesday but had a strong start at the Gewiss. Gaetano Castrovilli put a cross in from the left and Andrea Belotti steered the ball into the net with a diving header from inside the box.
Atalanta immediately replied with Europa League Final hero Ademola Lookman. The Nigerian ace received a perfectly timed through ball from Charles De Ketelaere and beat the debutant Tommaso Martinelli with a chip finish.
It was a back-and-forth match, and Fiorentina scored against at minute 19. Another cross from the left, this time from captain Cristiano Biraghi, found Nico Gonzalez inside the box and the Argentinean scored with a stunning volley at the near post. Still disappointed after losing the Conference League Final on Wednesday night, Nico apologised to Fiorentina fans while celebrating.
Atalanta replied pretty quickly again. Scalvini received the ball from Lookman and beat Martinelli with a right-footed shot from the edge of the box. It was the only good news of the day for the 20-year-old who suffered a suspected knee injury in the final minutes of the game.
Fiorentina took the lead again a few later on, with the final touch of the first half. Corner kick from the right: Lucas Beltran produced a dangerous shot on target, finding Belotti on the same trajectory so Il Gallo could score one of the easiest goals of his career putting the ball inside an empty net.
The second half was just as vibrant as Atalanta pushed to win the game. Emil Holm sent a shot wide after a Zizou Zidane-style, while Mario Pasalic hit the crossbar with a towering header just a few minutes later.
Nico had a chance to score for the second time with a wise header from outside the box which nearly caught Marco Carnesecchi off-guard, but the Italian shot-stopper managed to tip the ball over the crossbar.
Scamacca had one final chance to level the score, but Martinelli produced a superb save to deny the Italy international, who had been introduced a few minutes earlier.
It was Martinelli’s first Serie A appearance and the last one for referee Daniele Orsato, who blew the final whistle for the 289th time in Italy’s top flight.