Atalanta 1-0 Bologna: Samardzic strikes at the death
Lazar Samardzic's stoppage-time thunderbolt stole a win Bologna's numbers said they deserved, with Marco Carnesecchi keeping Atalanta alive long enough to take it.
Sometimes the table lies about a single afternoon, and this was one of those. Lazar Samardzic's 96th-minute winner gave Atalanta a 1-0 victory over a Bologna side that had dominated almost every measurable part of the match.
How it happened
Bologna carried the game for long stretches. Per Sofascore, the visitors out-shot Atalanta 16-6 and won the expected-goals battle 1.35 to 0.16, but kept finding Marco Carnesecchi in their way. The Atalanta keeper saved from Federico Bernardeschi in the 18th minute and again in the 88th, and Nicola Cambiaghi crashed a shot against the post in the 52nd, per the club's official report.
Then came the sting. Substitutes Nicola Zalewski and Samardzic combined deep into stoppage time, Zalewski setting up Samardzic for a left-footed strike from distance that found the bottom corner in the 96th minute. Sofascore's fan vote made Carnesecchi Player of the Match by a landslide — a fair verdict on where this game was actually won.
What it means
For Atalanta, this is the kind of result that banks points while a new project takes shape. The club's report notes it made it back-to-back wins to start the Serie A season under coach Maurizio Sarri, and winning ugly at home — one moment of quality, one outstanding goalkeeper — is a habit contenders tend to have.
For Bologna, the frustration is doubled by the details: four offside flags, no reward from six crosses, and the woodwork. Lewis Ferguson and their midfield controlled the ball for long spells, and the underlying performance was that of a side that should be leaving Bergamo with something. Serie A rarely pays out on performances alone, though, and Bologna leave Round 2 with proof of that.