Atalanta’s Primavera 1 TIM 2022-2023 “Trofeo Giacinto Facchetti” championship starts with a defeat as Empoli won 2-1 at the Centro Sportivo Petroio in Vinci.

Atalanta had a good start and had a few chances in the early minutes, as Stabile’s left-foot shot in the 5th minute tested the opposing goalkeeper and he then fired just over on 7 minutes. However, Empoli found the breakthrough through Renzi on 9 minutes, as he tapped in from Herculano’s headed pass. In the 18th minute, Del Lungo did not manage to turn Perez’s free-kick in from close range and Perez himself was denied by Dragoner on 32 minutes. Empoli threatened again on 36 minutes with Seck, who fired wide from a good spot. De Nipoti’s overhead kick, which was charged down, and Muhameti’s finish that was parried were the final chances of the first half.

In the second half, Empoli doubled their lead on 62 minutes through a Boli solo effort. However, the game was reopened in the 70th minute thanks to Vitucci’s goal (in the cover photo), who made the most of Del Lungo’s cross, skipped past a defender and fired an angled drive in. De Nipoti forced a save from the goalkeeper in the 79th minute but Empoli kept their lead until the end and won the first three points of this campaign. Atalanta will now return to the Centro Bortolotti where they will host Torino in their first home match of the season on Saturday 27 August.

EMPOLI 2-1 ATALANTA

Scorers: Renzi 9 (E), Boli 62 (E), Vitucci 70 (A)

Empoli: Filippis, Indragoli, Fini, Seck (Bonassi 54), Boli (Lanza 78), Ignacchiti, Renzi (El Biache 78), Kaczmarski, Tropea (Barsi 54), Herculano (Rosa 65), Dragoner. Bench: Tampucci, Seghetti, Marianucci, Magazzu, Vallarelli, Sodero, Sabbatasso, Crasta, Botrini, Lanza, Ekong. Coach: Antonio Buscè.

Atalanta: Bertini, Del Lungo, Bernasconi (Vavassori 65), Chiwisa (Riccio 78), Muhameti, De Nipoti, Omar (Vitucci 65), Ghezzi, Guerini, Stabile (Palestra 65), Perez (Colombo 46). Bench: Maglieri, Saleh, Fisic, Bordiga, Armstrong, Bevilacqua, Gudmundsson. Coach: Marco Fioretto.

Referee: Claudio Petrella from Viterbo (assistants Andrea Zezza from Ostia Lido and Alessandro Rastelli from Ostia Lido).

Notes: Kaczmarski (E), Chiwisa (A), Lanza (E), Vavassori (A) booked.