07 May 2023
Two goals without reply in Bergamo. Juventus collected an important win on Serie A Matchday 34 thanks to second half goals from Samuel Iling Junior, on his first Serie A start, and Dušan Vlahović, back-to-back goals for the striker.
The three points on the back of a solid performance push Juve into second place, two points ahead of Lazio on a weekend when six of the top-eight teams in Serie A went head on.
THE MATCH
The first lunchtime kick-off for Juventus coincided with the first signs of summer as the sun shone at a sold-out Gewiss Stadium. The temperature was certainly high on the pitch as both teams employed a pressing game, quickly closing down their opponents.
It was from Bianconeri pressure that the first chance of the match sprang. Nicolò Fagioli forced Teun Koopmeiners into a mistake at the edge of his own area. The ball broke into the path of Ángel Di María, who let fly from the edge of the area but curled his shot wide.
A minute later Arkadiusz Milik rose to meet a Juan Cuadrado cross but the striker flicked his header wide of the same post.
Not to be outdone, Atalanta created chances of their own. The first arrived from a corner which was met by Giorgio Scalvini, whose header hit the post. Davide Zappacosta then headed over from an interesting position at the edge of the six-yard box and a Marten De Roon piledriver was blocked by Alex Sandro.
The last chance of the first half was created down the Atalanta right-hand side, which was where the home side had been doing the bulk of their attacking. A cross from inside the area from Koopmeiners picked out Mario Pašalić, who lashed his shot over the bar.
Neither goalkeeper was called into action in the opening half. An aspect that would certainly change after the break.
In fact, 10 minutes after the restart Juve took the lead. Samuel Iling Junior won possession inside the Atalanta half before exchanging passes with Adrien Rabiot. The midfielder reached the deadball line and his low cross was deflected back to Iling, who finished from the edge of the six-yard area.
A Serie A debut to remember for the teenager.
Paul Pogba came close to adding a second after a swift counter attack. Then, with 15 minutes to play, Wojciech Szczęsny made his first save. Koopmeiners’s shot from a free-kick was hit with pace but was well covered by the Juventus number one.
In the closing minutes, the home side continued to push forward in search of an equaliser, while Juve aimed to wrap up the points on the break. On 89’ Dušan Vlahović hit his effort straight at Marco Sportiello as the Juve striker was played through one-on-one against the Atalanta goalkeeper. Only a minute elapsed before a surprise shot from Zappacosta at the edge of the area struck the face of the post and bounced to safety.
The Bianconeri defence was standing firm against everything the hosts were throwing at them and in the eighth minute of time added on Vlahović made sure all three points were heading back to Turin. The number nine unleashed an unstoppable shot that flew into the top corner.
Juventus move into second place with four matches of Serie A to play. Attention now turns to the Europa League semi-final.
ATALANTA 0-2 JUVENTUS (HT: 0-0)
Scorers: 56′ Iling, 90+8′ Vlahović
ATALANTA: Sportiello; Toloi, Djimsiti, Scalvini; Maehle, De Roon, Koopmeiners, Zappacosta; Ederson (49′ Boga) (64′ Soppy), Pasalic (60′ Muriel); Zapata. Subs not used: Musso, Rossi, Okoli, Demiral, Palestra. Coach: Gasperini.
JUVENTUS: Szczęsny; Danilo, Rugani, Alex Sandro; Cuadrado, Fagioli (64′ Pogba), Locatelli, Rabiot, Iling-Junior (82′ Kostić); Di Maria (82′ Chiesa); Milik (64′ Vlahović). Subs not used: Pinsoglio, Perin, Bremer, Gatti, Bonucci, Barbieri, Miretti, Kean, Soulé. Coach: Allegri.
Referee: Doveri
Bookings: 62′ Rabiot, 90′ Maehle, 90+9′ Vlahović
