On matchday 38 of the 2021-2022 Serie A TIM, Empoli win 1-0 at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo.
After a Cutrone finish just wide, Zapata had a double chance in the 8th and 10th minute but Vicario was well alert and always made huge saves, especially on the header. The Nerazzurri pressure kept growing and the finishes poured in: Boga’s curler was wide on 13 minutes, Freuler’s shot was fingertipped round the post in the 16th minute, Zappacosta’s shot was charged down on 21 minutes, Boga’s finish was fingertipped over the bar by Vicario (22′) and Koopmeiners’ shot was saved (31′). Djimsiti’s header on 31 minutes was cleared off the line by Zurkowski, while Zappacosta and Zapata had other attempts but were always denied by either the visiting goalkeeper or defenders.
The second half opened up with Zurkowski shot that was over. Boga had a great chance to break the deadlock but his right-foot curler smacked against the crossbar. After countless chances for Atalanta, it was Empoli that broke the deadlock in the 79th minute through Stulac. Musso had to pull off a save on Cutrone (who was offside anyway) and Pašalić fired over before Stulac petrified the home crowd as he broke the deadlock for Empoli. The Nerazzurri reacted to it with Zapata, but Vicario was alert and parried with his foot. In the final minutes, Iličić made his emotional comeback amid the Nerazzurri fans’ affection. With the help of the crossbar, Vicario also deflected Zapata’s close-range header on 88 minutes. The Nerazzurri pushed hard in the final minutes but Empoli managed to keep their lead. Atalanta finish eighth in the league with 59 points but were loudly cheered by the Nerazzurri fans.
ATALANTA 0-1 EMPOLI
Scorers: Stulac 79 (E).
Atalanta: Musso, de Roon, Palomino, Djimsiti, Hateboer (Pessina 57), Koopmeiners (Scalvini 76), Freuler (Demiral 83), Zappacosta (Mæhle 76), Pašalić (Iličić 83), Zapata, Boga. Bench: Rossi, Sportiello, Mihaila, Cittadini, Miranchuk, Cisse. Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini.
Empoli: Vicario, Stojanovic, Viti, Luperto, Cacace (Parisi 73), Zurkowski, Asllani, Bandinelli (Stulac 67), Henderson (Di Francesco 67), Cutrone (Baldanzi 73), La Mantia (Bajrami 46). Bench: Ujkani, Furlan, Romagnoli, Benassi, Fazzini, Degli Innocenti, Ismajli. Coach: Aurelio Andreazzoli.
Referee: Rosario Abisso from Palermo.
Assistants: Alberto Tegoni from Milan and Valerio Colarossi from Roma 2.
Fourth official: Alberto Santoro from Messina.
V.A.R.: Maurizio Mariani from Aprilia.
A.V.A.R.: Antonio Di Martino from Teramo.
Notes: Freuler (A), Stojanovic (E) booked.