More heartbreak for Atalanta

Bergamo's team runners-up again in Coppa Italia

Ruslan Malinovskyi scored the
Atalanta goal in a 2-1 defeat

Atalanta will have to wait a little longer for their revival to bring them a trophy after a second appearance in three years in the Coppa Italia final ended in defeat.

La Dea were beaten 2-1 by Juventus in Wednesday’s final at the Mapei Stadium in Reggio-Emilia, which is the shared home of the Sassuolo and Reggiana clubs.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s team were hoping to win the Bergamo club’s first trophy since 1963, having lost the final to Lazio two years ago.

They were watched by 4,300 spectators, the most allowed to attend a match since the Covid lockdown began in March 2020.

Juventus went ahead through Dejan Kulusevski in the 31st minute but Atalanta equalised before half-time thanks to a powerful shot by Ruslan Malinovskyi, their Ukrainian midfielder.

However, the bianconeri stepped up their intensity in the second half and ran out deserved winners after Federico Chiesa scored their second goal 17 minutes from the end.

It was a 14th Coppa Italia victory for Juventus and a first success for head coach Andrea Pirlo, one of Italy’s finest players of recent years, who is in his first season as a coach.

Gasperini insisted that, despite the disappointment, his team could leave the stadium with heads held high and will now focus on clinching second place in Serie A - the highest finish in the club’s history - by beating AC Milan at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo on Sunday.

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Atalanta reach final of Coppa Italia

Victory over Fiorentina clinches trip to Rome

Alejandro 'Papu' Gomez scored the winning
goal for Atalanta in last night's match

Bergamo’s football team, Atalanta, will attempt to win a major title for only the second time in the club’s history when they face the Rome team Lazio in the final of the Coppa Italia next month.

The nerazzurri came from a goal behind to beat Fiorentina 2-1 in the home second leg of the semi-final last night for a 5-4 aggregate victory.

Atalanta have not won a major trophy since lifting the Coppa Italia in 1963 but this was their second semi-final in two years in what is becoming an outstanding season under coach Gian Piero Gasparini.

The team came from behind to win at second-placed Napoli in Serie A on Monday to move level on points with fourth-placed AC Milan in the fight for the last Champions League spot. The nerazzurri have never previously qualified for the Champions League.

Last night, knowing they had to score at least after a 3-3 first-leg result in Florence gave Atalanta a potential advantage on the away-goals-count-double rule in the event of another draw, Fiorentina went ahead after just three minutes, when Luis Muriel’s shot beat Atalanta goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini after a good pass by Federico Chiesa.

Gian Piero Gasparini has been in charge
of the Atalanta team since 2016

But Atalanta, who had knocked out holders Juventus in the quarter-finals, were level less than 10 minutes later.

A foolish challenge from Fiorentina defender Federico Ceccherini on Alejandro 'Papu' Gomez gave them a penalty, which former Fiorentina forward Josip Ilicic converted.

Argentina-born forward Gomez scored the winner in the 69th minute when Fiorentina goalkeeper Alban Lafont could not prevent a shot by the Atalanta captain going into the net, despite getting both hands to it. 

In the May 15 final, Atalanta will face Lazio at the Roman club’s ground, the Stadio Olimpico. Lazio eliminated AC Milan on Wednesday.

Atalanta play their home matches at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia in Via Giulio Cesare in the Città Bassa, which they share with another Bergamo club, Albinoleffe, who currently play in Serie C, the third tier of Italian professional football.

Coach Gasparini, who represented Palermo and Pescara among other clubs in a 17-year playing career, has been on Atalanta’s bench since June 2016.

Read also:

Hail the brilliant new Atalanta!

Atalanta promoted to Serie A

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