Atalanta never ceases to amaze. He wins at San Paolo and reaches Milan in fourth place, remaining in the running for a place in the Champions League. Bad for Napoli, who can't recover. Another defeat, after that remedied by Arsenal, which sparked the protest of the fans. Whistle for De Laurentiis, Ancelotti and the players, while in curve B a banner is displayed on which is written: "Sarri uno di noi". A real affront to Ancelotti who left the field disappointed for the performance of his. Josip Ilicic is the character of the evening. And with him Gasperini, good at modifying the formation with the grafts of Palomino in defense and Ilicic on three quarters. The entry of the Slovenian has practically overturned the match and the result. An excellent performance, which enhances the team just on the eve of the semi-final of the Italian Cup return against Fiorentina.
INSIGNE OUTSIDE - At the announcement of the formations, here is the surprise: outside Lorenzo Insigne, in his place is Dries Mertens. Carlo Ancelotti's decision lets it be discussed. After pulling him out on cup Thursday, against Arsenal, exposing him to the San Paolo whistles, the coach increased his dose by excluding him from the match with Atalanta. It will certainly have been a technical exclusion, but the events of the last few days suggest a punishment that the coach wanted to inflict on the captain after what happened on Thursday evening, with the player protesting at the time of the substitution. In Atalanta, on the other hand, Gasperini renounces Ilicic proposing the Gomez-Zapata pair in attack.
MORE NAPOLI - On the San Paolo the flood breaks out, it rains when Orsato whistles away. The slippery ground does not allow a good control of the ball, there are many errors in support and exit. On a long shot by Hysaj, Mancini miscalculates the bounce of the ball and favors the shot by Mertens. The Belgian striker flies towards Gollini, but in an attempt to skip it he lands on the floor without any contact. Orsato rightly signs to continue (11 ’). Two minutes later, Chiriches is forced to leave his post in Luperto. In a game contact with Zapata, the shoulder is injured.
NAPOLI AHEAD - Atalanta finds it hard to find the space needed to enhance Zapata. Pasalic misses so much, while Hateboer is conditioned by the warning after just a minute of play for a hug to Mertens. Napoli takes the lead on 28 minutes. Chestnuts misses closure on Malcuit who has plenty of time to cross. Mancini and Mertens pounced on the ball and the defender's deviation hit the attacker's hip for the Neapolitan advantage (28 ’). The first shot on goal by the Bergamo team came in the 36th minute, with a conclusion from Gomez from the edge of the area: Ospina was ready for a corner deviation. The same goalkeeper will repeat himself in the minutes of recovery to divert a blow to the usual Papu.
INSIDE ILICIC - After returning to the field, after the interval, Gasperini takes care of the first substitution: Mancini is out and inside Palomino and after 9 minutes he takes out Freuler to insert Ilicic. But it is always Naples that becomes dangerous. At 5 ', Milik takes advantage of a mistake by Masiello and overtakes Gollini with a scraper. The public of the San Paolo celebrates, but the defender, with a desperate click, manages to push the ball out again before it completely exceeds the white line. With Ilicic, Atalanta is transformed. Slovenian is of superior quality, and it shows. It was he who built a goal ball for Zapata, but the Colombian was anticipated at the time of the serve, by Koulibaly (23 ’). It is the prelude to a draw that comes in the 24th minute. It is always Ilicic that triggers Hateboer's shot on the right. The outside exceeds Hysaj in speed and low cross for the touch of Zapata that anticipates Koulibaly. The draw reinvigorates the Bergamo players who try to win the game. Ilicic creates havoc in the Neapolitan area and Ospina is forced to be pushed back into the Slovenian's shooting range. On the rebound De Roon grazes the pole from outside the area. Can only one player determine a game? Yes, at the San Paolo it happened. Ilicic is a gladiator, fighting and playing up. The assist for Zapata and the Colombian's subsequent backstroke to clear Pasalic for the advantage goal was amazing. On the pitch, Atalanta celebrates while the protest against Aurelio De Laurentiis rises from the stands.