Milan — After being honored as Serie A’s coach of the month, Gian Piero Gasperini showcased why he is also a strong contender for the title of coach of the year.
His strategic substitutions played a crucial role in Atalanta’s 1-0 victory over struggling Cagliari on Saturday, marking a club-record tenth consecutive league win. This victory allows Atalanta to secure the top position in the league standings by the end of the weekend.
Currently, Atalanta holds a two-point lead over second-place Napoli, which managed to come from behind to defeat Udinese 3-1 in their match.
Meanwhile, Juventus, currently ranked ninth, remains the only unbeaten team in Serie A, but their streak was nearly broken. They drew 2-2 at home against bottom-placed Venezia, with a penalty scored in stoppage time rescuing them from a loss.
Atalanta faced challenges against Cagliari during the first half, with Marco Carnesecchi, the visiting goalkeeper, making crucial saves, including an impressive triple save that kept the score level at halftime.
Recognizing the need for change, Gasperini opted for three substitutions at half-time, which resulted in an immediate improvement in Atalanta’s performance.
In the 64th minute, he made two further changes, introducing Nicolò Zaniolo and Lazar Samardzic into the game. Their fresh presence proved significant just two minutes later when Samardzic set up Raoul Bellanova, who passed it back to Zaniolo, allowing him to score from close range.
Gasperini, who has been leading Atalanta for eight years, received recognition as the coach of the year in 2019 and 2020 and was awarded the monthly honor for November last week.
Atalanta claimed the Europa League title last season but has yet to win the Serie A championship, achieving its highest finish of third place three times under Gasperini’s guidance.
While Cagliari delivered a commendable performance, they find themselves just two points above the relegation zone.
Juventus, on the other hand, faced their fourth consecutive draw in Serie A. The Bianconeri were grateful for a penalty awarded to Dusan Vlahovic in the fifth minute of stoppage time, which helped them maintain their unbeaten record.
Just days after a noteworthy victory against Manchester City in the Champions League, Juventus seemed poised to suffer a surprising defeat to Venezia. The situation changed when visiting defender Antonio Candela was controversially penalized for a handball.
Venezia took the lead with a header from Jay Idzes with just seven minutes left after Mikael Egill Ellertsson had equalized for the visitors following Federico Gatti’s opener for Juventus. This moment would have marked Venezia’s first Serie A victory over Juventus in over six decades.
After a disappointing week that saw Napoli lose its lead in Serie A and exit the Italian Cup due to back-to-back losses against Lazio, they managed a turnaround.
Napoli fell behind in the 22nd minute when a penalty was awarded for a handball by Stanislav Lobotka. Although goalkeeper Alex Meret saved Florian Thauvin’s penalty, the ball deflected back to the Udinese captain, who capitalized on the opportunity and scored from the rebound.
Romelu Lukaku equalized for Napoli five minutes after halftime, collecting a pass from Scott McTominay and holding off Lautaro Giannetti.
In a stroke of misfortune for Udinese, defender Giannetti turned a shot from David Neres into his own net in the 76th minute before Frank Anguissa secured victory for Napoli with a goal five minutes later.