By Our Man in Bergamo
THE OLD LADY was left battered, bruised, and dumped out of the Coppa Italia as Atalanta’s stars turned on the style in a 3-0 demolition of Juventus.
On a night where Luciano Spalletti’s superstars were expected to shine, it was the Bergamo boys who looked like the genuine world-beaters. Gianluca Scamacca set the tone, before super-subs Kamaldeen Sulemana and Mario Pasalic completed a clinical mugging that sent shockwaves through Turin.
SPOT-ON SCAMACCA
The drama kicked off in the 27th minute when Juve’s Gleison Bremer was caught in a VAR horror show.
The Brazilian defender was judged to have handled an Ederson cross, and the referee didn’t hesitate after a trip to the monitor.
Up stepped Scamacca. With the weight of Bergamo on his shoulders, the Italy hitman remained ice-cool, sending Mattia Perin the wrong way to ignite a frenzy in the stands.
JUVENTUS JINXED
Juve tried to claw their way back, but it just wasn’t their night.
Francisco Conceicao was a livewire but saw a curling effort shatter against the crossbar, while Weston McKennie and Jonathan David couldn’t find a way past the wall that was Berat Djimsiti.
Spalletti threw on the cavalry, handing a debut to former Sassuolo star Jeremie Boga, but even his trickery couldn’t unlock the stubborn Atalanta backline.
As Juve pushed for a leveller, they were caught cold by a ruthless Atalanta counter-attack.
Raoul Bellanova turned provider, feeding Kamaldeen Sulemana who slotted home with just 13 minutes left on the clock.
And before the traveling fans could even process the exit, Mario Pasalic rubbed salt in the wounds. Just seconds after coming off the bench, the Croatian playmaker danced through the defense to fire home the third, ensuring the Old Lady’s cup dreams ended in a Bergamo bloodbath.
ATALANTA (3-4-2-1): Carnesecchi; Scalvini, Djimsiti, Ahanor; Zappacosta, De Roon, Ederson, Bernasconi; De Ketelaere, Raspadori; Scamacca.
JUVENTUS (4-2-3-1): Perin; Kalulu, Gatti, Bremer, Kelly; Thuram, Locatelli; Conceicao, McKennie, Cambiaso; David.
