© photo at TuttoCesena.it
Atalanta 4
Cesena 0
ATALANTA (3-4-2-1): Rui Patricio; Toloi, Hien, Djimsiti; Palestra, De Roon, Pasalic, Zappacosta; De Ketelaere, Samardzic; Retegui. A disp.: Carnesecchi, Rossi, Kossounou, Godfrey, Sulemana, Zaniolo, Bellanova, Brescianini, Vlahovic. All.: Gasperini
CESENA (3-4-2-1): Pisseri; Pieraccini, Ciofi, Piacentini; Adamo, Mendicino, Bastoni, Celia; Kargbo, Tavsan; Van Hooijdonk. A disp.: Klinsmann, Siano, Curto, Chiarello, Donnarumma, Saber, Ceesay, Berti, Prestia, Antonucci, Mangraviti, Calò, Francesconi. All.: Mignani
REFEREE: Daniele Perenzoni from Rovereto. Assistants: Edoardo Raspollini from Livorno and Vito Mastrodonato from Molfetta. Fourth official: Paride Tremolada of Monza. OUR: Giacomo Camplone from Pescara. VAR Assistant: Marco Serra of Turin.
RARE: 4′ pt Zappacosta (A), 8′ pt De Ketelaere (A), 27′ pt Samardzic (A)
NOTE: Djimsiti (A) cautioned
35′ pt GODDESS POKER! DE KETELAERE AGAIN! Atalanta-Cesena 4-0
34′ pt Adamo slips and Zappacosta flies towards the goal. This time the winger’s shot was saved by Pisseri
32′ pt Sponda by Toloi at the near post but none of his teammates pounce on the ball. Goal throw
29′ pt Djimsiti is booked for tripping Tavsan
The goal. Counterattack in an open field by the Goddess, who takes advantage of a rebound just when Cesena had raised their center of gravity. Retegui serves the Serbian in the penalty area who, with the help of Pieraccini’s deflection, surprises Pisseri.
27′ pt ATALANTA’S TRIS! SAMARDZIC SCORES! Atalanta-Cesena 3-0
24′ pt Samardzic’s curling shot just misses the target
21′ pt Cross by Samardzic for the insertion of Pasalic, but his header is not clean and Pisseri takes the ball into his own
16′ pt Pisseri waits too long before returning and Retegui deflects the ball, which fortunately ends up outside the goal
14′ pt Bastoni earns a corner after a good entry into the area
13′ pt Kargbo is bumped by Toloi and rests his teammates
The goal. The Belgian striker receives the ball on the edge of the area and doesn’t think twice about shooting with his right foot. His shot is angled and Pisseri cannot intervene.
8′ pt DOUBLE ATALANTA! KETELAERE SCORES! Atalanta-Cesena 2-0
The goal. The home team insisted on the left wing: Djimsiti slotted in for the winger and, thanks to a rebound, surpassed Adamo and anticipated Pisseri’s low exit.
4′ pt GOAL FROM THE GODDESS! ZAPPACOSTA SCORES! Atalanta-Cesena 1-0
2′ pt Mendicino brings down De Ketelaere and concedes a free kick from a dangerous position
1′ pt The match begins. The first ball belongs to the Bianconeri. Atalanta-Cesena 0-0
The historic quarter-final at the Olimpico in Rome dates back to the 2016/17 season, in which Cesena had to surrender to the Giallorossi due to a (to say the least) dubious penalty awarded at the end and then scored by Totti. This year’s Atalanta seems as formidable an opponent as the team then coached by Luciano Spalletti, who then achieved the record for points (87) and goals scored (90) in a single season for the capital club. Mignani decides to change the entire starting eleven compared to the match against Cosenza and proposes the Kargbo-Tavsan tandem to support Van Hooijdonk. On the other hand, however, Gasperini confirms Retegui and De Ketelaere in attack, De Roon in midfield and Hien in defence. Rui Patricio makes his debut in goal.
