Serie A: Atalanta Blast Napoli to Stay Within Striking Distance of Third Spot

Atalanta 2-0 Napoli

Atalanta continue their high-scoring and winning ways here in Serie A, as they defeated Napoli, 2-0, at the Atleti Azzurri d’Italia Stadium last Thursday night.

The underrated midfield duo of Mario Pasalic and Robin Gosens got the job done for the home team as they fired two quick goals in just within the first ten minutes of the second half.

This latest victory is Atalanta’s seventh straight win in the Italian top-flight. They have solidified their hold at a Champions League spot and they have inched closer to Inter Milan, despite the latter dominating Brescia, 6-0, last Wednesday.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s men now have 60 points – only trailing by four points against the third placers in Inter Milan.

The win also put a halt to Napoli’s good run in form, snapping their five-game winning streak. Gennaro Gattuso’s side remain in sixth place with 45 points and their Serie A 2020 odds for a Champions League spot looks bleak as of the moment.

This match was unlike before where both teams have scored goals in bunches. But overall, it was fascinating to see these two in-form teams go at it last night.

As always, SBOBET is here to recap last’s night package of Serie A 2020 highlights.

Highlights of the game

Upon hearing that these two clubs will meet up, I was expecting for goals to come in bunches in this match.

But instead, Atalanta and Napoli were involved in a defencive slug fest where they struggled to score particularly in the the first half, although there were some viable chances.

Napoli struck first when they had a great opportunity as Fabian Ruiz launched a cross from the right flank into the penalty area. However, Kalidou Koulibaly’s header attempt missed the mark on the goalpost.

On the other hand for Atalanta, they had their real first chance when Papu Gomez rifled a belter of an attempt far from inside the penalty area, but the ball didn’t get past the fast hands of David Ospina.

Papu Gomez would try his luck once more via a free kick but David Ospina narrowly saved the ball in favour of Napoli. However, David Ospina’s night would be cut short as he had to be replaced by Alex Meret with the wound that he sustained above his eye.

Fast forward to the second half, Atalanta were the more persistent team and it helped when they made the most of their possessions.

Gian Piero Gasperini is thrilled after Atalanta beat Napoli in Serie A — Gian Piero Gasperini reacts during a Serie A match

Gian Piero Gasperini’s men would finally break through in the 47^th minute when Papu Gomez’s cross would find an open Mario Pasalic to finally head in their first goal of the match.

Atalanta doubled their lead after eight minutes when they pushed for a counterattack. They were passing the ball fast and it found its way to Robin Gosens to finish with a diagonal strike into the bottom right post.

Fabian Ruiz would try to score one for Napoli with a counterattack of their own. However, his long range strike went too wide from the bottom left side.

Kalidou Koulibaly, who is expected to leave Napoli this summer, would have one more chance at a goal when he received a volley from Nikola Maksimovic. But his header was just off target, right over the crossbar.

Midfielder Piotr Zielinski came up with a shot on target in the late game after when he was wide open near inside the box. However, Pierluigi Gollini was there to block the shot.

The game could have ended with a 2-1 tally if it weren’t for a late ruling with the help of the VAR. Arkadiusz Milik punched in a goal late but it was ruled out due to him being in an offside position.