Maehle and Lookman knock Sampdoria down, Atalanta rises to 3rd place

Fifth useful result for Atalanta, unbeaten in 2023, which beat Sampdoria 2-0 within the friendly walls of the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo and momentarily hooks Milan into third place in the standings with 38 points, two points behind second-placed Inter. At the start Musso was decisive on Gabbiadini and Augello, before the interval the hosts raised the engine revs and after Lookman’s post, they took the lead with a header from Maehle. In the second half, Lookman scores again, in the 12th center in the league, who closes the accounts. Fourth knockout in a row instead for the Blucerchiati who remain penultimate at 9 points.

Sampdoria started strong and after 9 minutes of play they had a double chance to take the lead: first with a left foot from Gabbiadini, then from a rebuttal from Augello. On both occasions Musso is decisive, with two great interventions. 10 minutes go by and Sampdoria has another opportunity: Lammers, on the side of Gabbiadini, presses the shot too hard. Leris also tries, but his conclusion ends high above the crossbar. The first real chance for Atalanta comes just before the half hour mark and bears Holjund’s signature. The 19-year-old Danish from the Goddess gets rid of two markers with a real sleight of hand. Audero manages to repel with his punches, Lookman slips on the most beautiful and fails in the tap-in.

Gasperini’s team grows as the minutes go by, first it’s still Hojlund who makes himself dangerous, then it’s Lookman’s turn, who takes aim from the edge but fails to frame the mirror on goal. A few minutes from the end of the first half Atalanta took the lead through Maehle: cross from the left by Boga, header by Lookman that hits the board. Hateboer is the fastest of all and puts in a soft cross which Maehle arrives first, who heads Audero.

The second half begins along the lines of the first half final with Atalanta up front and Sampdoria forced to defend. In the 57th minute Lookman doubled his lead. The attacker got rid of Murru with a great play and let go of a right-footed cross that passed under Nuytinck’s legs and ended up in the net.

Stankovic’s team feel the pinch and Atalanta persistently look for the third goal: Hojlund tries, but his strong shot at the near post is rejected by Audero, then it’s up to Zapata, but the Colombian from an excellent position shoots badly and the ball even ends up in a lateral foul. The match ends without any other jolts until the final triple whistle.