Atalanta-Napoli 2-3, Lukaku seals the Azzurri's Scudetto win

Bergamo, 18 January 2025 - On the outward journey theAtalanta took over the Maradona and 3 goals which, for both teams on the field, had the flavour of a sentence: in the return match the Napoli takes revenge (sportingly speaking) with the same offensive turnover, signed by politan, McTominay e Lukaku. This time, however, there is no monologue, because the Nerazzurri had found the illusory advantage with Reteguiwhile a Lookman he had the honour of signing the temporary one 2-2. Then the Neapolitans find the shot that makes the entire square go crazy, seeing the most beautiful goal ever more concrete on the horizon: to be precise, two, like 50, like the points in the standings, and 7, like the lengths now ahead of the Orobic team, who risk seeing their dream of the championship vanish definitively. In the middle of the standings is theInter, delayed by 6 points but with two games less: numbers that for now do not interest the Napoli, which starts the aftermath in the best way kvaratskheliaBetter times will come for the show, but in the meantime the band Tale with cynicism one takes the Gewiss Stadium, notoriously a complex system to conquer.

The official lineups

Gasperini choose a 3-4-1-2 open from Carnesecchi, protected by Scalvini, Djimsiti e Hien, with Bellanova e Ruggeri on the bands and Ederson e DeRoon on the median: in the three-quarter line there is Samardzic at the service of Retegui e Lookman. Tale reply with a 4-3-3 that he sees between the posts Meret, with By Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Juan Jesus e Olive in defense and Anguissa, Lobotka e McTominay in the middle of the field: the attacking line includes politan, Lukaku e Neres.

First half

At 3' Carnesecchi must fly to anticipate Lukaku, sought by a ball from the right: on the other side he is good Juan Jesus to get to the ball before Samardzic, also taking the foul. The skirmishes continue with a cross from Ruggeri, rejected by the Italian defence, and the reply was entrusted to a left-handed shot from politan which goes out on the bottom. The same fate, in the 14th minute, befalls the right-footed shot from the edge of Ederson, which flies just over the crossbar. The advantage of theAtalanta it's in the air and arrives in the 16th minute, when Retegui stop a ball right there Ederson directed towards Ruggeri and with a powerful right foot he breaks the door and the match. At 20' Bellanova awkwardly concludes a potential counterattack by his team, but this time they are easy prey for Meret, while the subsequent conclusion of relief of Scalvini ends in the curve. The Nerazzurri continue to hammer but in the 23rd minute they expose themselves to a counterattack led by Neres, who calls Carnesecchi at a low grip. Chance shakes the Napoli, who equalized the score at 27' with politan with a great left-footed diagonal that goes under the crossbar on a ball from Neres soiled by Djimsiti. At 29' Olive try to complete the comeback from outside, while on the other side Lookman tries to sound the charge with a razor shot off target: just before Hien had been providential on the head bank of Anguissa for McTominayThe latter completed the comeback in the 40th minute with a first-time right-footed shot from inside the area following a suggestion from Anguissa, in turn served by a heel of Neres after a lost ball by Ederson. The referee Columbo assign 1' recovery period during which nothing else happens: after a complicated start, the Napoli he shows up in the locker room with the advantage against aAtalanta which experienced the opposite trend during the first half.

Second half

The teams return to the field with the same players, including Bellanova, who searches in vain Retegui with a cross: on the other side Lukaku he kicks but only hits the legs of Hien. At 53' Samardzic mail for Retegui, who tries to emulate the action of the goal without the same precision. At 56' Retegui he disguises himself as an assistant for Lookman, who with a bit of luck wins a rebound in the area and with a left-footed diagonal shot slightly deflected by McTominay sign the 2-2. On the wings of newfound enthusiasm Lookman lancia Samardzic, who calls Meret to the corner intervention after a suspicious touch by the arm of Hien to start the action. After a moment of apnea, the Napoli tries to raise the center of gravity thanks to a free kick earned by Anguissa, but the home defense postpones. Gasperini opens the wheel of substitutions by inserting Zappa costa e The Ketelaere for Ruggeri e Retegui. At 70' Meret rejects the header of The Ketelaere, caught from a cross of Bellanova after a previous low cross, this time from the left, had cut across the entire Azzurri area. Tale instead the card is played Spinazzola for Neres: Gasperini responds by entering Zaniolo e Pasalic for Lookman e Samardzic. After this roundabout way the Napoli regain the advantage with Lukaku, who headed the cross into the back of the net in the 79th minute Anguissa. THE'Atalanta He has to dive back into attack in search of a new equaliser and immediately earns a corner which the visiting defence barely clears. Tale takes away an exhausted politan and gives minutes to Mazzocchi: to enter is also Simeon for Lukaku, while Gasperini throw into the fray Brescianini in place of ScalviniThe Azzurri try to slow down the pace of the match, keeping control of the ball: the mission seems to be successful, thanks to aAtalanta who felt the blow of the third goal conceded. The minutes of recovery are 4, the first of which Pasalic he heads the ball over the crossbar. Then nothing else actually happens and so the Napoli can bring home a very important victory in view of a championship which instead risks becoming a utopia for theAtalanta, now a -7.