Bowie's Response in the 10Th Minute, a Left-footed Shot on the Rebound From Doig's Pass, Sparked Another Wave of Bergamo Attacks

Krstovic scored the winner in the second half after a back-and-forth between Raspadori and Odenthal, as Atalanta beat Sassuolo 2-1 in their Serie A opener on Saturday. Raspadori opened the scoring in the 6th minute with a left-footed strike that came off the underside of the crossbar, following a cross from Zappacosta and a pass from Gaetano, who won a duel with Laurienté. Bowie's response in the 10th minute, a left-footed shot on the rebound from Doig's pass, sparked another wave of Bergamo attacks.

Zalewski, served between the lines by Scamacca, forced Muric to close the near post, while Ederson's long-range effort was deflected by Matic. The visitors lived on the Volpato-Bakola axis, with a left-footed shot wide from the edge of the box in the 25th minute, and through Laurienté, who forced Carnesecchi to tip his curling effort over the bar before cutting inside to set up Adzic, denied by the home goalkeeper again in the 32nd minute. The hosts dropped too deep, and Carnesecchi had to intervene on Adzic's weak effort in the 40th minute, assisted by Volpato, who three minutes later weaved through and fired a right-footed shot straight at the keeper.

The second half ignited in the 5th minute with a back-and-forth between Laurienté, who skied another chance from Adzic's assist, and Ederson, who could only win a corner. In the 10th minute, Kossounou's backward header from Doig's throw-in set up Odenthal's glancing header for the 1-1 equalizer. On the hour mark, Laurienté again broke free down the flank but fired over with the goal at his mercy.

Matic grazed the post from distance, but then Macchioni's disastrous back-header from Carnesecchi's clearance gifted the ball to Krstovic, who in the 20th minute lobbed Muric with a deflection off the defender. Aquilani switched to a 4-2-3-1 with Dominguez high on the left. In the closing stages, Sarri handed a debut to Elmas, officially announced, while Krstovic failed to convert a chance to seal the score in the 37th minute.

De Ketelaere, a substitute for Zalewski, misjudged all his passes. The final scare came in the 3rd minute of stoppage time when Cinquegrano volleyed just wide of the net from Doig's cross, denying Sassuolo a late equalizer. Atalanta, in their league debut, only showed flashes of the speed that saw them win in the Conference League five days before the return leg against Hapoel, while Sassuolo pushed them back for much of the first half and only succumbed to their own defensive error.