Final test before Hapoel Tel Aviv: Atalanta beats Athletic Bilbao
In its final preparation match ahead of the Conference League playoff against Hapoel Tel Aviv, Atalanta secured a 1-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao. Nicola Zalewski scored the decisive goal early in the second half.
In its final preparation match before the double-header against Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Conference League qualification playoff round, Atalanta won 1-0 this Friday in Bergamo against Athletic Bilbao. The new head coach, Maurizio Sarri, had to manage without two injured players, Charles De Ketelaere and Honnest Anour, as the medical staff works to get them ready for Thursday.
Sarri has received only two new players so far: Gianluca Gaetano, purchased from Cagliari for 12 million euros, who started in the lineup, and Danish defender Thomas Kristensen, who arrived on loan from Udinese just yesterday and remained on the bench. Polish midfielder Nicola Zalewski decided the game with a fine goal in the 46th minute, right at the start of the second half. He was one of three field players who were not substituted.
Atalanta lineup: Marco Carnesecchi, Raoul Bellanova, Odilon Kossounou, Giorgio Scalvini, Lorenzo Bernasconi, Lazar Samardzic, Gianluca Gaetano, Ederson, Nicola Zalewski, Gianluca Scamacca, Giacomo Raspadori.
The home game against Hapoel Tel Aviv (Thursday, 21:30) will be Atalanta's first official match of the season. A week later, the Reds will host the return leg in Miskolc, Hungary, at 21:00.
