Atalanta 2-0 Fiorentina: Match report

Pre-match

We all hopped in a time machine back to a happier moment when Raffaele Palladino reappeared on the touchline of the Stadio Artemio Franchi, but the scenery fell away to reveal that we remain in hell as he walked over to the Atalanta dugout. Neither he nor Paolo Vanoli did any weird stuff with their lineups as they’re both still building on the foundations left by their predecessors. The difference, of course, is that Atalanta had years of Gian Piero Gasperini building a masterpiece, while Fiorentina’s spent the past 6 months building a castle out of its own feces.

First half

Fiorentina weirdly got the first chance: Moise Kean snuck in behind and forced a save from Marco Carnesecchi. The rebound fell to Roberto Piccoli, who, with the entire goal at his mercy, somehow fired it straight back at the prone goalkeeper. That woke la Dea up, and she duly started turning the screws. Charles de Ketelaere was the hosts’ main threat, tormenting the Viola with his trickery and movement. David de Gea made a handful of routine-to-good saves as Atalanta asserted its clear superiority, but he was helpless to stop Odilon Koussounou’s mishit cross from drifting over his head and into the top corner for a goal that would be described as freakish if it happened to anyone but Fiorentina. We know, though. We know that this kind of fuckery is destiny.

Vanoli’s men sort of, kind of mounted a fightback, but Piccoli missed another good chance and Atalanta had a few more glimpses as well. When halftime arrived, the result felt more or less correct based on the balance of play, although the goal itself was about as ridiculous as any the Viola have suffered in recent memory.

Second half

The second half had a couple of decent moments early on but reverted to form almost immediately. The whole team failed to deal with a corner that de Ketelaere headed on frame. De Gea made the initial save but an unmarked Ademola Lookman slammed home the rebound and, given the typical Viola incompetence going forward, that was that.

The guys at least tried a little bit, although it felt like their occasional flashes of cohesion were more about Atalanta relaxing than anything else. Kean threatened from a couple set pieces but had one cleared off the line and struck the upright with the other. The only other point of interest was a late cameo for Amir Richardson, who’s returned from his Pioli-induced exile and then his family issues (remember, his dad died a couple weeks ago) and looked rusty but ambitious, at least. That wasn’t enough to impress the Viola tifosi, who were steaming mad and already making their displeasure known even before the triple blast.

Full time

Goals: Koussounou 41’ (ass. de Ketelaere), Lookman 51’

Cards: Hien 84’; Pongračić 59’, Marí 69’, Mandragora 71’

What’s next

There’s no midweek game, at least, so the next time we have to watch these bozos is next Saturday at Sassuolo, which is Serie A’s most average team (10th place, goal difference of 0). Marin Pongračić is suspended but that probably doesn’t make any difference. Maybe Vanoli will spend the week working on how to defend a set piece but that still wouldn’t help. This is a bad and broken team that has gone 13 straight without a win to open the season, a feat unseen since Cremonese in 2022-2023. It’s bad out here, man.