Chapter 73: Chapter 72: Atalanta vs Sampdoria II
The replay showed it from multiple angles—the moment Koopmeiners spotted the run, the pass threading through, Lookman’s first touch taking it away from danger, the cut inside that left Nuytinck on the turf, the shot that gave Audero no chance, the ball hitting post and net simultaneously. Poetry in motion, the kind of goal that looked simple but required a dozen small decisions all made correctly in the span of three seconds.
When play finally restarted, Sampdoria kicked off and immediately passed it back to their defense, but something fundamental had shifted in their shape and approach. They couldn’t sit quite as deep anymore, not when chasing the game, so the defensive line pushed up five yards, maybe ten, creating more space between defense and goalkeeper while also compressing the midfield. The risk was obvious—more space for Atalanta to exploit in transition—but the alternative was sitting back for eighty-four more minutes hoping nothing else went wrong.
"Sampdoria have to come out and play now, they can’t afford to just sit back when they’re behind, let’s see how they respond..."
Djuricic dropped deep to collect from Winks, turning smoothly under light pressure from Koopmeiners before playing it out wide to Fernandez on the right wing. The young winger brought it down with his first touch, pushed it forward with his second to give himself space to work, then looked up to see Mæhle racing across to close him down, so he dropped his shoulder and cut inside onto his stronger left foot, evading the Danish wing-back’s challenge with a quick change of direction that left Mæhle grabbing at air.
"Fernandez receives it, Mæhle’s coming across, he cuts inside beautifully there and he’s got options, Gabbiadini’s making a run..."
Scalvini stepped out to meet him but Fernandez had already spotted Gabbiadini’s movement toward the near post and he played the ball first time into the striker’s path, the Italian forward drawing his foot back to shoot but Djimsiti threw himself in front of it with total commitment, the ball cannoning off his thigh and spinning away for a corner as the Albanian defender crumpled to the turf in pain before getting back up to the roar of appreciation from the Curva Nord.
The corner came in high and deep, Malinovskyi’s delivery swinging toward the back post where bodies jostled for position, but Tolói rose highest and powered his header clear, the ball dropping to Koopmeiners who killed it instantly and drove forward looking for a counter, his head up searching for Højlund’s run, but Rincón had read it and stepped across to intercept before laying it off to Winks who spread it wide to Augello.
Fifteen minutes had passed and the pattern was clear—Atalanta leading but Sampdoria growing into the match, finding their rhythm, creating small moments of danger that never quite developed into clear chances but suggested they weren’t going to make this easy for the hosts.
At the twenty-minute mark, Sampdoria created their best opportunity yet, and it started innocuously enough with Audero’s goal kick bouncing into midfield where Gabbiadini rose to meet it, his header flicking it down into Djuricic’s path as the Serbian midfielder dropped into his own half to receive. The instant he turned with the ball Djuricic realized Atalanta’s press wasn’t coordinated, de Roon and Koopmeiners not quite on the same wavelength about who should engage, and that hesitation created space where there shouldn’t have been any.
"Djuricic picks it up here and there’s no pressure on him, this could be dangerous..."
He drove forward five yards, then ten, his confidence growing with every step as de Roon finally moved across to close him down but that movement left space behind where Fernandez was already drifting, anticipating the pass before it came. Djuricic slipped it through with perfect timing, the ball rolling into the pocket between Mæhle and Djimsiti where Fernandez had found himself completely unmarked for a crucial second.
"Through ball to Fernandez! He’s got space here!"
The young winger’s first touch was heavier than he wanted, the ball getting away from him slightly and forcing him wider than ideal, but he recovered well on his second touch and when he looked up he saw two options developing simultaneously—Gabbiadini peeling off Tolói with a diagonal run toward the near post while Sabiri sprinted in from the left occupying Scalvini’s attention.
"Fernandez, he’s got to decide quickly, he crosses it..."
The delivery came in low and hard, skimming across the wet grass toward the near post where Gabbiadini had timed his run perfectly, meeting it six yards out and glancing his header toward the far corner with enough power to beat most goalkeepers, but Musso had anticipated the near post run and was already throwing himself across his goal, his left hand reaching out to palm the ball away at full stretch.
"GABBIADINI HEADS IT, MUSSO SAVES! What a stop by the Argentine, Gabbiadini thought he’d scored there!"
But the danger wasn’t over because the ball spun out toward the edge of the box where Fernandez had continued his run after delivering the cross, and it dropped perfectly for him ten yards out in a central position with time to set his feet and pick his spot. The stadium’s noise changed pitch, rising from relief to fear in the space of a heartbeat as everyone realized what was about to happen.
"Second chance here, FERNANDEZ SHOOTS..."
He struck it cleanly, his technique was perfect, keeping it low and aiming for the bottom corner where Musso was still recovering from his first save, but the ball was rising ever so slightly as it left his boot and everyone in the stadium watched its trajectory including Audero behind the goal who raised his hands thinking it was in, but it sailed over the crossbar by inches and crashed into the netting behind the goal.
"OH IT’S OVER! So close! Fernandez should have buried that, he’s caught it well but just couldn’t keep it down!"
Fernandez stood with both hands on his head, mouth open in disbelief, unable to process how he’d missed from there while his teammates came over to applaud the effort even though the frustration was written all over their faces. That had been the chance, the moment to level the match, and they’d let it slip through their fingers.
Up in the stands Isabella exhaled shakily while Marco nodded in appreciation of Musso’s initial save, and on the bench Demien watched intently, studying how Sampdoria had created that opening, how the press had been disorganized, how Fernandez had found space between the lines. These were the details that mattered, the small tactical moments that separated good teams from great ones.
The match flowed on, both teams trading possession without creating clear chances, the intensity high but the quality not quite matching it as passes went astray and touches got heavy in the afternoon heat. Twenty-five minutes became thirty became thirty-three, and at that thirty-three minute mark Højlund nearly doubled Atalanta’s lead when Éderson drove forward from deep, playing a quick one-two with Lookman that split Sampdoria’s midfield before slipping the young Danish striker through on goal, his shot traveling fast and true toward the bottom corner until Nuytinck threw himself in front of it, blocking with his thigh and sending the ball spinning away for a corner that came to nothing when Audero punched clear.
"We’re past the half-hour mark now, still one-nil to Atalanta, but Sampdoria are very much in this contest, that Fernandez miss aside they’ve had their moments..."