Atalanta handed Serie A leaders Napoli a significant setback with a decisive 3-0 victory on Sunday, led by two goals from Ademola Lookman.
Napoli aimed to extend their lead at the top of the table but were taken by surprise at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, ending their unbeaten streak that dated back to August 18.
Following this, Inter Milan closed the gap on Napoli, winning 1-0 against Venezia and finishing the weekend just one point behind the leaders.
Lookman opened the scoring in the 10th minute, capitalizing on a header from Marten de Roon and finding the back of the net past Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret. He then increased Atalanta’s lead with a well-placed curling shot shortly after the half-hour mark, leaving Napoli coach Antonio Conte frustrated with his defense’s lack of coverage.
Napoli struggled to create significant scoring opportunities, with the closest chance coming from former Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay, who hit the post. Mateo Retegui sealed the victory for Atalanta with a third goal in injury time, marking his 11th goal of the season. With this win, Atalanta accumulated 22 points, just three points behind Napoli.
“We had a great match, bringing three points back from the league leaders is a great source of pride,” Lookman told DAZN.
Atalanta’s coach Gian Piero Gasperini commented, “When you come to play in Napoli against a team that has had a great start to the season, you know that you have to have a great match. We are very satisfied.” He also mentioned, “We are a team that is growing, making progress. We have made eleven changes to the squad compared to the one that played in the middle of the week, but we still need to improve things.”
Conte acknowledged the defeat, stating, “We shouldn’t be ashamed of this defeat; they have been playing together for a long time, they are better structured than us.”
In the match between Inter and Venezia, the only goal came from Inter’s captain Lautaro Martinez in the 65th minute, assisted by Federico Dimarco. Venezia believed they had equalized in stoppage time, but Marin Sverko’s goal was disallowed by VAR for a foul.
“We clearly need to be more clinical; we shouldn’t find ourselves in such a situation given the number of chances we had,” said Inter coach Simone Inzaghi. He added, “This is going to be a very open championship, with several teams who can aim for the title. This kind of victory can make the difference.”
Next Sunday, champions Inter will face Napoli at the San Siro.
Fiorentina also joined Atalanta on 22 points after Moise Kean scored in the 41st minute to secure a 1-0 victory over Torino.
In contrast, Roma suffered a 3-2 defeat against Verona, marking their third loss in four matches. They currently sit in 11th place with 13 points, increasing the pressure on coach Ivan Juric, who took over in September.
