SOCCER. Atalanta wins the 27th Bortolotti Trophy by beating Athletic Bilbao 1-0. The decisive goal was scored by Nicola Zalewski just 40 seconds after the start of the second half.
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Reading 2 min.A goal by Nicola Zalewski about forty seconds into the second half gives Atalanta the 27th edition of the Bortolotti Trophy. Just an immediate flash after the interval was enough to bend Athletic Bilbao: in the second 45 minutes the Bergamasques proved more brilliant, in the final moments they tried for a second goal on a couple of occasions with Krstovic (who came off the bench), while the Basques created several chances but never found the right sharpness. It ends 1-0 for Atalanta
In the last friendly before the first leg of the Conference League playoffs (scheduled for Thursday at 8:30 pm at the Bergamo stadium against Hapoel Tel Aviv), Maurizio Sarri’s Atalanta collects some positive indications. The condition is not yet the best, obviously, but against a European-level opponent – last year they played in the Champions League, although they finished 12th in La Liga – they put in a generally good performance. The defense remained unbeaten, as already against Schalke 04 in the previous test; some movements from midfield upwards still need to be perfected.
The first half
The first half between Atalanta and Athletic Bilbao ends 0-0. The first chance materializes after just over a minute, when Scamacca shoots wide failing to take advantage of Bellanova’s nice acceleration, then the match immediately dies down. The Basques are livelier, control the game and become dangerous with Maroan (19’, high right from the small area) and Sancet (31’, low shot blocked in the area by Gaetano), but Atalanta reappears at the end. At 39’ Zalewski takes advantage of an inaccurate clearance by Areso and sends the ball just past the post with a nice volley, then two minutes later Gaetano draws a venomous right-footed shot from distance that goes just wide. Good crowd, with almost 15,000 spectators.
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Facing them, Atalanta found a prestigious opponent: memories go back to the previous Champions League match on January 21, when the Basques conquered Bergamo 3-2. Among Bilbao’s call-ups was also the world champion goalkeeper Unai Simon, while Laporte and Nico Williams – the other two white-and-red players fresh from winning the World Cup with Spain – were not included for this trip.
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Last year the Bortolotti was won by Juventus (2-1, with a consolation goal by Samardzic), Atalanta’s last success dates back to 2018 (3-2 against Hertha Berlin: goals by Barrow, Mancini and Ilicic).
The lineups
Atalanta on the field with the 4-3-3 planned on the eve: injured De Ketelaere is out, here is Zalewski from the start. On the bench is the new signing Kristensen. In Bilbao, the world champion Unai Simon is in goal.
ATALANTA (4-3-3): Carnesecchi; Bellanova, Kossounou, Scalvini, Bernasconi; Samardzic, Gaetano, Ederson; Raspadori, Scamacca, Zalewski.
On the bench: Sonzogni, Sportiello, Vismara, I. Sulemana, Pasalic, de Roon, Kolasinac, Kristensen, Obric, Cassa, Manzoni, Plaia, Zappacosta, Krstovic.
Coach Sarri.
ATHLETIC BILBAO (4-2-3-1): Unai Simon; Areso, Yeray, Paredes, Yuri Berchiche; Galarreta, Gere; I. Williams, Sancet, Berenguer; Maroan.
On the bench: Padilla, Jauregizar, Adama, Serrano, Navarro, Prados, Canales, Rego, Johaneko, Rincon, Monreal, Djaló.
Coach Terzic.
