Tag: Atalanta

  • **Fisayo Dele-Bashiru Becomes 6th Lazio Player to Score More Than Three Goals This Season**

    **Fisayo Dele-Bashiru Becomes 6th Lazio Player to Score More Than Three Goals This Season**

    By Daniel Edu

    Fisayo Dele-Bashiru has made a significant mark at Lazio, scoring his second Serie A goal and his fourth across all competitions this season in Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Atalanta. This goal propelled the Nigerian midfielder to a milestone that highlights his growing impact at the club.

    Dele-Bashiru’s strike makes him the sixth Lazio player to score more than three goals in all competitions during the 2024/25 season, a feat that stands out in Serie A. The achievement was highlighted by Opta, which pointed out that the 23-year-old’s four goals contribute to Lazio’s remarkable depth in attack. Opta further noted, “Dele-Bashiru (four goals) is the sixth Lazio player to score more than three all-comps goals in 24/25: a record among Serie A teams.”

    Lazio’s impressive goal-scoring ability now places them among Europe’s top clubs for attacking depth, with only Arsenal and Manchester United having more players (seven each) with four or more goals across the top five European leagues.

    The goal in the 1-1 draw against Atalanta came early in the match, showcasing Dele-Bashiru’s ability to make an immediate impact. His consistent form has been a key part of Lazio’s success this season, both domestically and in European competitions.

    Since joining Lazio in the summer on a season-long loan from Hatayspor, Dele-Bashiru has been one of the team’s standout performers. The deal includes an obligation for Lazio to purchase him if he meets performance targets, and the midfielder’s form in Serie A and the Europa League has made him a crucial figure for the club.

    Dele-Bashiru, who netted nine goals and registered six assists in Turkey’s Super Lig last season, has been efficient despite not starting every match in Serie A. In just nine league appearances, he has already scored twice, and his contributions in the Europa League have been even more impressive, with two goals and two assists in just four games.

    At just 23, Dele-Bashiru’s rise at Lazio is indicative of his talent and potential, and he continues to solidify his place as one of the most exciting young players in Serie A.

  • Ronaldo Scores Winning Goal As Man Utd Make Dramatic Comeback Against Atalanta

    Ronaldo Scores Winning Goal As Man Utd Make Dramatic Comeback Against Atalanta

    Manchester United needed another Champions League fightback finished off by Cristiano Ronaldo as they came from two goals down to beat Atalanta 3-2 at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

    Goals from Mario Pasalic and Merih Demiral had Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men on course for a fifth defeat in eight games.

    However, United’s attacking arsenal blew the Italians away after the break as Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire drew them level before Ronaldo powered home a header nine minutes from time.

    Ronaldo also scored a 96th-minute winner against Villarreal in United’s previous Champions League game to mask an otherwise unconvincing performance.

    Questions will continue to be asked of Solskjaer’s ability to get the best out of such a richly talented squad.

    But a much-needed win to move to the top of Group F eases the mounting pressure on the Norwegian.

    Solskjaer responded to Saturday’s 4-2 defeat at Leicester by dropping Jadon Sancho and Paul Pogba.

    Rashford was handed his first start of the season after shoulder surgery and should have scored after just three minutes when he fired wide when clean through on goal, although the offside flag was later raised against the England international.

    United’s major problems, though, have come at the other end as they have now kept one clean sheet in 20 games.

    Atalanta played through the hosts with ease for the opening goal as Josip Ilicic fed Davide Zappacosta down the right and his low cross was turned home by Pasalic.

    Fred was denied an instant equaliser by a brilliant save from Juan Musso before United were easily breached again.

    Maguire endured a torrid return from injury against his former club at the weekend and was outjumped by Demiral as the Turkish defender headed home from a corner.

    Old Trafford was growing restless, but luckily for United they were up against a defence as suspect as their own.

    Fred fired another huge chance wide before Rashford hit the bar with just Musso to beat before the break.

    Rashford finally found his range to halve the home side’s deficit with a calm finish from Bruno Fernandes’ pass eight minutes into the second half.

    Scott McTominay then fired against the post and Musso was forced to full stretch to turn a low Ronaldo shot to safety.

    Solskjaer unloaded his wealth of attacking options off the bench as Pogba, Sancho and Edinson Cavani were introduced for the final quarter.

    But United’s awful defending nearly gave them too much of a mountain to climb.

    Duvan Zapata spun Victor Lindelof with ease and forced David de Gea into a stunning save before the Spaniard parried Ruslan Malinovskyi’s follow-up strike over.

    It took just two minutes to prove the value of those saves as Maguire hammered home at the back post from Cavani’s flick-on.

    Fernandes should have completed the comeback when he fired too close to Musso.

    But that cleared the way for Ronaldo to provide another fairytale ending as he rose highest to power home Luke Shaw’s cross for his sixth goal in nine appearances since returning to the club where he first became a world star.

    AFP

  • Gomez to reveal the truth about Gasperini feud to Atalanta fans amid January exit reports

    Gomez to reveal the truth about Gasperini feud to Atalanta fans amid January exit reports

    Alejandro Gomez has promised to reveal the “truth” about his alleged bust-up with coach Gian Piero Gasperini to Atalanta fans amid reports of a potential January exit.

    Gomez has not played for Atalanta since being hauled off at half-time during a 1-1 draw with FC Midtjylland in the Champions League on December 1.

    After seeing his side fall 1-0 down in the first half, Gasperini asked the 32-year-old to move from his number 10 role onto the right-hand side of midfield, but he refused.

    The Atalanta boss responded by replacing Gomez with Josip Ilicic, and the Argentine was subsequently left out of the team’s final Group D win away at Ajax last week.

    Gomez returned to Gasperini’s squad for a Serie A clash against Fiorentina on Sunday, but ended up being an unused substitute as Atalanta ran out 3-0 winners.

    With the experienced frontman’s relationship with his manager now reported to be beyond repair, Atalanta have been tipped to sell the experienced frontman when the transfer window reopens.

    Gomez claims he will divulge the true nature of recent events if he does indeed end up leaving, as he told his followers on Instagram: “Dear fans, I’m writing to you here because I have no other means to defend myself or talk to you.

    “I just want to tell you that, when I leave, you will know the truth about everything.

    “You know me well; you know who I am. I love you, your captain.”

    However, Gasperini played down any suggestion of a rift with Gomez after Atalanta’s win over Fiorentina, insisting he has been tinkering with his team in order to keep everyone fresh heading into a congested festive period.

    “We had played nine Serie A games and six in the Champions League, I think Gomez was the only one to play in all of them. We’ve been more solid recently with this new system and so we are trying other alternatives,” he told reporters.

    “I consider it essential to keep changing and evolving. I have always been at clubs for quite a long time, at least usually. Around five years for a coach is a long time, so it’s essential to seek other alternatives.”

    Asked if Atalanta will sanction Gomez’s departure in January, Gasperini responded: “That is not the case. I think the club has to make strong choices on how to set targets for the team and coach in future.

    “That’s not necessarily results, but how to behave and approach games. We have to look to the future, because when you stop and get stuck in your ways, it ends up being like going backwards.

    “If the coach is not in sync with his club, then it becomes a problem, but we always exchange ideas, there’s no issue.”

    The Italian added: “I think Gomez has been our most important player over these five years, I said it many times, he was hardly ever out of the team. There are some situations…

    “For example, after two years, Papu’s role was difficult in some games for the team to handle, because the opponents can change and adapt to neutralise you.

    “At the basis of everything, we need trust and being open to listening. I don’t know how the situation will be resolved. It’s disappointing for Josip Ilicic, as he got dragged into this whole situation in the media and had nothing to do with it.”

  • Deadly December awaits Liverpool after abysmal Atalanta display

    Deadly December awaits Liverpool after abysmal Atalanta display

    With a defeat in November, Liverpool’s December just got a whole lot trickier. 

    The Reds’ perfect start to their Champions League campaign is over, ended at the hands of Atalanta at Anfield. 

    Revenge was sweet for the Italians. Beaten 5-0 in Bergamo three weeks ago, Gian Piero Gasperini’s side got their own back on Merseyside, inflicting a 2-0 defeat which keeps Group D wide open, for now at least. 

    Victory here would have seen Jurgen Klopp’s men through to the knockout stages with two games to spare. Instead, with Ajax beating Midtjylland in Amsterdam, Liverpool now need a result when the Eredivisie side visit next week to guarantee qualification.

    A defeat would leave them vulnerable, needing something from their final group match, as they have in each of the last three campaigns.

    It means Klopp, his resources already stretched by injury, will have less room to comfortably rotate his squad during the busiest month of the campaign.

    Liverpool play 10 times between November 28 and January 2, and as it stands none of those games will be free hits for the Premier League champions. 

    Klopp chose to make changes here. Five of them, in fact, from Sunday’s impressive win over Leicester City.

    There were chances for the Williamses, teenagers Neco and Rhys, and opportunities for Kostas Tsimikas and Divock Origi, as well as a return for Mohamed Salah.

    The result, though, was a disjointed performance which got what it deserved. Liverpool were second best for large parts, created little offensively and eventually succumbed to two goals in four second-half minutes, courtesy of Josip Ilicic and Robin Gosens.

    Klopp cut a frustrated figure on the touchline, unhappy with most of what he saw.

    Tsimikas, making only his second competitive appearance, got plenty of earache, as did Origi, whose form continues to underwhelm. The Belgian is doing little to push for greater inclusion, at present.

    It took 43 minutes for Liverpool to muster even a shot, and when it came Salah blasted it well off target. The home side struggled to string any moves of note together, their rhythm lacking against a team that clearly learned their lessons from the first game.

    Liverpool had looked to change the game off the bench in the final half hour, but as Klopp readied four substitutes – Andy Robertson, Fabinho, Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino – Atalanta struck.

    Ilicic and Papu Gomez had been the main threats for the Italians, and it was they who combined, with Gomez’s cross slid home by the Slovenia star at the far post, with the Reds backline sleeping.

    It got worse moments later, as another Gomez delivery saw Robertson beaten in the air by Hans Hateboer, with Gosens on hand to slot home his side’s second.

    There was to be no response from the home team, who ended the night without a single effort on target. Second best, for once, on their own soil.

    The damage need not be too bad. Liverpool should have enough to get what they need against Ajax (or Midtjylland), but it will frustrate Klopp that having taken an understandable gamble with his selection, his replacements were unable to deliver.

    This was the heaviest home defeat Klopp has suffered as Reds boss – the last time they lost by more than one goal at Anfield came under Brendan Rodgers, a 3-0 reverse at the hands of West Ham in August 2015. 

    He will hope for better news from the treatment room this week, with Jordan Henderson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain stepping up their rehab. Maybe, too, we will see Thiago Alcantara on the field again soon. It has been a long enough wait. 

    They head to Brighton on Saturday – an early kick-off, in case you missed Klopp’s latest broadside against the broadcasters – and we can expect a more familiar team at the Amex Stadium, with crucial league points on the line.

    A more familiar team, and a more familiar performance, Klopp will hope.

    This was Liverpool, but not as we know them.

  • Salah to return for Liverpool against Atalanta

    Salah to return for Liverpool against Atalanta

    Liverpool will welcome back Mohamed Salah for their Champions League clash with Atalanta on Wednesday night.

    The Reds’ top scorer is available after missing Sunday’s Premier League win over Leicester following a positive coronavirus test while on international duty with Egypt.

    Jurgen Klopp confirmed on Tuesday that the 28-year-old had tested negative and was able to return to full training with Liverpool’s squad at Kirkby.

    Salah could now go straight back into the starting XI as the English champions look to secure progression to the Champions League knockout stages, which they can achieve with a victory at Anfield on Wednesday evening.

    Klopp told reporters: “Mo trained with the team yesterday and looked really good. All the tests were negative so now, if nothing changes, he’s available, which is good. 

    “Now we have to see what we do, because he was quarantined until three days ago.”

    Liverpool will, however, be without a host of first-teamers for the game against the Serie A outfit. 

    Captain Jordan Henderson (groin) will miss out, as will defender Trent Alexander-Arnold (calf).

    Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, of course, are sidelined for the long term with knee injuries, while it looks unlikely that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain or Thiago Alcantara will be ready to return for this game.

    In addition, Naby Keita picked up a hamstring issue against Leicester, while Xherdan Shaqiri missed out entirely due to an unspecified muscle complaint. Neither are expected to be part of Klopp’s squad against Atalanta.

    “All the rest, no news,” Klopp said. “One looks closer, the other not so close, that’s how the situation is. We will see who is available. 

    “I don’t want to speak too much about it because I have no idea who Atalanta can bring, so why should we give any kind of information to them?”

    Liverpool won 5-0 when the sides met in Bergamo earlier this month, but Klopp is expecting a tougher assignment on Merseyside.

    “Atalanta would be a threat without a point to prove, to be honest,” he said. “The night in Atalanta was really special, we played exceptionally well, and pretty much everything was right. Things came together and we won the game the way we won it.

    “We know that this game has nothing to do with the game tomorrow night. We know that we have to be ready again. Atalanta are a top team with a special way to play. We did well at Atalanta, but we need to do well again otherwise we will have problems. 

    “I expect problems, to be honest, because it’s always like this. But we try to work on the solutions in the short period of time we have.”

    He added: “It’s all on the table, it’s clear that if we win then some problems will be sorted. But we have to play, be ready to work really, really hard against them. 

    “This man-marking system is really difficult to play, that’s why they were so successful in the past years. They will not change, they will play in a similar way. We will see who we can line up tomorrow and try to make the best of situation.”