Atalanta steamroller: 8-2 over Salernitana, Europe closer

A landslide victory to reaffirm their European ambitions.

Atalanta rifles a resounding 8-2 win over Salernitana, moving back to sixth place in the standings on equal points with Lazio and thus in the thick of the race for Europe (the Champions League is only three points away). Gian Piero Gasperini’s men, moreover, go in goal with no less than seven different men: only Ademola Lookman, in fact, is the author of a double.

The score unblocked already in the 5th minute, with the first goal in the league with the Atalanta jersey for Jeremie Boga: for the Ivorian it was a splendid personal action, ended with a right-footed shot on which a deflection is decisive. Salernitana seems to be in the game, and in the 10th minute it equalizes with Dia (nice left-footed shot on Piatek’s spit). The Nerazzurri, however, are unstoppable: in the 20th minute Lookman scores on a penalty kick, in the 38th minute Koopmeiners misses another but puts Ochoa’s rebound back into the net. In between (in the 23rd minute) Scalvini also scores, with a header on Koopmeiners’ corner. Then in the 40th minute there is glory for Hojlund, who finishes a counterattack launched by De Roon into the goal.

The five goals in one half did not quench Atalanta’s thirst for goals, which in the 54th minute went through again with Lookman (his right-footed shot was relentless after good work by Boga). Already in the 56th minute Dia serves Nicolussi Caviglia the ball that allows Salernitana to shorten the gap, but before the end the Orobici find two more goals with as many players sent on by Gasperini in the second half. They are former Ederson, who in the 61st minute receives from Lookman and beats Ochoa with a looping conclusion, and Zortea, served by Zapata and author in the 85th minute of a diagonal shot that closes the accounts.