Valiant Verona pull off two-goal fightback to peg back Atalanta's Euro race
Atalanta had no issues settling back into action at the Gewiss Stadium following four consecutive away matches, with La Dea two goals to the good after just 18 minutes.
Gianluca Scamacca picked up where he left off from scoring against Liverpool in midweek to net for a third consecutive match, as the Italian controlled Teun Koopmeiners’ through ball and volleyed past Lorenzo Montipo.
Scamacca reversed roles for Atalanta’s second when his defence-splitting pass released Ederson behind Verona’s high line, and the Brazilian made no mistake curling low past Montipò.
The hosts were eager to extend their advantage before the break and continued to pepper the Verona goal throughout the first half.
Ultimately, the damage could have been worse for the Gialloblu, but Montipo ensured the deficit remained at just two goals after denying Mario Pasalic’s close-range header and Charles De Ketelaere’s awkward deflected strike from distance.
Verona flew out of the traps after the break and looked like a rejuvenated side in their bid to climb out of the bottom-three.
Much like their opponents in the first half, Verona struck two quickfire goals to restore parity with Darko Lazovic first firing into the bottom corner from 20 yards for his first goal since October 2023, before Tijjani Noslin headered Fabien Centonze’s cross past Marco Carnesecchi.
Atalanta were suddenly scrambling to restore their lead, yet they continued to waste chances. Substitute Aleksei Miranchuk couldn’t beat Montipo at the near post with a stinging effort, while Emil Holm fired over from 10 yards late on. A failure to get their lead back leaves La Dea with just one win in their last six Serie A fixtures and scrambling to stay in the race for the top-four.
Just when Verona looked down and out in this contest, they showed plenty of grit to turn it around with a strong second-half display and just two defeats in six will give Marco Baroni’s outfit hope of beating the drop.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta)
