MILAN — In a surprising turn of events, Atalanta triumphed 3-0 over Serie A leaders Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, capitalizing on the absence of the league’s leading scorer from the starting eleven.
Despite being benched, Mateo Retegui eventually entered the match with 14 minutes to go and managed to score during stoppage time, marking his 11th goal in as many appearances. Meanwhile, Ademola Lookman made a significant impact by scoring twice in the first half, leading to Napoli’s only their second loss of the season, and their first since the campaign’s opening match.
Atalanta’s victory propelled them into second place in the league, although they could be overtaken by Inter Milan should the defending champions secure a win against Venezia later, narrowing the point gap to Napoli to just one. Napoli is set to visit Inter next weekend, a match that could have significant implications for the title chase.
Gian Piero Gasperini, Atalanta’s coach, made the controversial decision to bench Retegui, aiming for a more dynamic offensive approach against a Napoli defense that had achieved six clean sheets in seven matches and had only allowed five goals throughout the season. Instead, Gasperini opted for Lookman and Charles De Ketelaere as his attacking duo, supported by Mario Pasalic. This tactical choice reaped immediate rewards, as Atalanta struck first in the 10th minute.
A Napoli clearance found its way to the edge of the penalty area, where De Ketelaere skillfully nudged it back, allowing Lookman to find the near bottom corner with precision. Napoli attempted to respond quickly, with Scott McTominay coming close to equalizing, but his powerful shot ricocheted off the right post.
The partnership between Atalanta’s forwards proved fruitful once more in the 31st minute when De Ketelaere broke through the right flank and maneuvered around two defenders before sending the ball to Lookman, who unleashed a strong shot into the far bottom corner of the net.
Early in the second half, Sead Kolasinac thought he had increased Atalanta’s advantage, but his goal was disallowed due to an offside ruling. Retegui would later come onto the field for De Ketelaere and sealed the victory with a volley that found the bottom right corner.
Fiorentina has the chance to climb into the third position should they secure a victory over Torino later, while Roma is also in action against Hellas Verona.