Chapter 72: Chapter 71: Atalanta vs Sampdoria I [extra]
"Absolutely magnificent conditions for football," his partner agreed while Højlund touched the ball back to Koopmeiners at kickoff, the Dutch midfielder already turning before the pass arrived, head swiveling left and right as he surveyed the field. De Roon showed for it close, offering the safe option, but Koopmeiners had already spotted Mæhle drifting wide on the left touchline with acres of space opening up in front of him, so he leaned back slightly and swept his right foot through the ball, sending it arcing across the pitch in a beautiful diagonal that hung in the air for what felt like forever before dropping perfectly into the Danish wing-back’s path.
"Out to Mæhle on the left wing, plenty of room to work with here..."
The ball arrived chest-high and Mæhle killed it with a cushioned touch that took all the pace off, let it drop to his feet, then pushed it forward three yards into space while scanning ahead for movement. Lookman peeled inside from his starting position, dragging Zanoli with him like a magnet pulling metal, and that simple run opened up a passing lane back toward Scalvini who had stepped up from the defensive line looking to receive.
"Back it goes to Scalvini, comfortable start for the hosts, he plays it inside to Djimsiti..."
The Albanian center-back took it on the half-turn and immediately Atalanta’s shape became clear, the back three spreading wide to create angles while Sampdoria’s formation showed itself in response—four defenders sitting narrow and deep, two banks of four and three compacting the space, tucking in tight with no interest in pressing high. They were content to let Atalanta have the ball here, forty yards from goal where it couldn’t hurt them, waiting patiently for the hosts to commit forward and leave gaps to exploit.
"Sampdoria sitting very deep in these opening exchanges, you can see what Stanković has set up here, Winks and Rincón anchoring that midfield and they’re not moving, just watching, daring Atalanta to try and break them down..."
Djimsiti stepped forward with the ball at his feet, trying to draw someone out, anyone, but no white shirts moved to engage him so he looked left then right and finally played it square to Tolói who didn’t even take a touch before pinging it up the line toward Hateboer making an overlapping run down the right flank.
"Hateboer bombs forward, he’s got Augello tracking him, the left-back gets there first and clears it away, Sampdoria with their first touch of the ball..."
It bounced into midfield where Djuricic was waiting, the Serbian playmaker laying it off first time with the outside of his boot to Winks who controlled it smoothly, his head already up looking for options before the ball even reached him. Fernandez had started his run early, anticipating the pass, bursting down the right channel with Scalvini tracking him, and Winks tried to thread it through but the young Italian defender had read it perfectly, stepping across to cut out the pass with his body before it could reach Sampdoria’s dangerous winger.
"Good defensive awareness from Scalvini, intercepts that and now he’s driving forward, Djuricic coming to close him down but he slips it inside to Éderson..."
The Brazilian midfielder took one touch to control, another to swivel his hips and turn his body toward goal, then exploded forward into the space that had opened up in front of him. Sampdoria’s midfield scrambled to adjust, Rincón shuffling across to block the passing lane to Lookman who was making a run in behind, forcing Éderson wider than he wanted to go, so the Brazilian checked his stride and played it square to Koopmeiners instead.
Four minutes had passed and the pattern was already established—Atalanta probing patiently with possession, moving the ball from side to side trying to stretch Sampdoria’s compact shape, while the visitors absorbed everything with disciplined positioning that made every forward pass feel like threading a needle through a closing door.
"Atalanta haven’t really threatened yet, you have to say, Sampdoria are very well organized here, making themselves so compact that there’s just no space to play through..."
Koopmeiners recycled it back to Musso who took his time with the ball at his feet, letting the play reset before rolling it out to Tolói on the right side of defense. The center-back stepped up confidently and played it into de Roon’s feet, the captain bringing it down with his first touch, turning with his second, then splitting Sampdoria’s midfield line with a perfectly weighted pass into Lookman’s feet as the winger dropped deep to receive.
"De Roon finds Lookman here, he’s got it on the turn and he’s trying to accelerate past Rincón..."
But the Venezuelan midfielder was thirty-four years old with over fifteen years of professional football in his legs and he’d seen this exact situation a thousand times before, so he didn’t dive in or commit his weight, just positioned his body perfectly to force Lookman back toward his own goal rather than forward, cutting off the angle until the English winger had no choice but to lay it off to Mæhle who played it back inside immediately.
The Gewiss Stadium urged their team forward with every pass, the volume rising and falling like waves with each foray into the opposition half, drums beating steadily from the Curva Nord where the ultras waved their flags and sang their songs, creating that cauldron atmosphere that made home matches in Serie A feel different from anywhere else in the world.
Then, in the sixth minute, everything changed.
De Roon read Djuricic’s touch before the Sampdoria playmaker even made it, stepping in with perfect timing to win the ball cleanly without fouling, and the tackle sent it squirting forward to Koopmeiners who suddenly had space and time because Sampdoria’s shape had been broken by the turnover. The Dutch midfielder’s head snapped up immediately, scanning, processing, and he saw it—Lookman peeling away from Zanoli, the full-back caught flat-footed for just a second, creating a channel between right-back and center-back that measured maybe five yards but looked as wide as a highway in that frozen moment.
"Koopmeiners has spotted something here, Lookman’s making his move..."
The pass had to be perfect because the space would close in seconds once Sampdoria realized what was happening, but Koopmeiners didn’t hesitate, his right foot connected with the ball and sent it rolling forward with just the right weight and pace, threading through that narrow channel before anyone could react.
"THROUGH BALL! Lookman’s onto it and he’s got space to run into!"
The English winger was already accelerating when the pass arrived, his first touch taking the ball away from Zanoli who was desperately trying to recover but couldn’t match Lookman’s pace over the first five yards. Suddenly there was daylight between him and goal, the grass opening up in front of him as he drove forward—twenty-five yards out, then twenty, then eighteen—while Nuytinck scrambled across from center-back trying to close the angle but Lookman had already made his decision about what came next.
"He’s through on goal, just Audero to beat now, what can he do here..."
The defender’s challenge came in hard but Lookman had anticipated it, cutting onto his right foot with a sharp drop of his shoulder that sent Nuytinck sliding past on the slick grass while the stadium held its collective breath, twenty-five thousand people rising from their seats as one.
"He cuts inside, he’s going to shoot..."
The ball left his boot clean and true, rising slightly as it traveled, arrowing toward the far post where Audero was already diving but his fingertips were stretching toward something they’d never reach, and then came that distinctive sound—CLANG—metal on leather as the ball kissed the inside of the post before spinning into the net.
"GOOOOOOOOAL! LOOKMAN! WHAT A START! SIX MINUTES IN AND THE NEW SIGNING HAS ANNOUNCED HIMSELF!"
The Gewiss Stadium exploded. That’s the only word for it—exploded. The sound that erupted from twenty-five thousand throats wasn’t cheering or roaring or celebrating, it was something primal and pure that hit you in the chest like a physical force, a wall of noise so loud it made the commentary useless for several seconds as Lookman wheeled away toward the corner flag with his arms spread wide like wings. Højlund got there first, jumping on his back and riding him like a jockey while Éderson and Koopmeiners piled on, then Mæhle and Hateboer, until half the team was tangled together in a mass of black and blue celebrating in front of the Curva Nord where the ultras were going absolutely mental with their flags and drums and songs.
On the bench Demien jumped up with all the other substitutes, clapping and shouting though his voice was lost in the cacophony around him, while up in the stands Isabella grabbed Marco’s arm so hard it would leave marks and Luca pumped his fist at the sky, the Curva Nord behind them a sea of black and blue and noise and movement that felt alive.
"Brilliant finish! That’s what Atalanta paid fifteen million pounds for! Six minutes into his Serie A debut and Ademola Lookman has justified every penny of that transfer fee, what composure under pressure, what a clinical finish!"
"Wonderful ball from Koopmeiners as well, perfect weight on that pass, right into the channel at exactly the right moment, but you have to give credit to Lookman for the finish, he kept his head when Nuytinck came sliding in and just picked his spot..."
ATALANTA 1-0 SAMPDORIA ⚽ Lookman 6’