Matteo Pessina of Atalanta fights for the ball with Mohamed Ali Camara of Young Boys during the UEFA Champions League football match between Atalanta and Young Boys at Gewiss Stadium on September 29, 2021 in Bergamo, Italy.
Atalanta took care of business at home in the second Champions League game versus Young Boys, improving to four points in Group F.
The Bergamaschi had some issues breaking the deadlock but were mostly in control and gave up just one major chance. They eventually broke through midway through the second half with a tap-in by Matteo Pessina after a relentless action by Duvan Zapata.
Gian Piero Gasperini went with his standard lineup, minus José Luis Palomino, who is injured. Merih Demiral filled in, while Matteo Pessina joined Ruslan Malinovskyi in a supporting role, and Davide Zappacosta manned the right flank. As expected, Luis Muriel made his return off the bench.
Atalanta got off to a good start as Zapata slalomed through defenders, but his shot was too weak. They lost Robin Gosens ten minutes in as he hurt his right thigh. Joakim Maehle took his place. Shortly after that, the Goddess generated an own goal. However, Rafael Toloi, who had deflected the ball, was slightly offside on a free-kick.
Meschack Elia had the only scoring opportunity for his side at the 28th minute. He slipped behind the defense, but he missed the target on the one-on-one with Juan Musso. At the end of the first half, Pessina scuffed a point-blank deflection on a set piece. He did manage to coordinate properly once the ball got through a few men in front of him.
The Italian international redeemed himself at the 68th minute. Zapata muscled his way to the baseline on the right-hand side of the box, sent in a gorgeous square ball, and the midfielder punched it in.
Afterward, Atalanta comfortably saw the game out, taming Young Boy’s reaction. Luis Muriel had the final chance of the tilt, but he finished too timidly after waltzing through opponents.
