From Bergamo to the Quarterfinals: Atalanta's 4-0 Coppa Italia Statement Over Genoa

Match overview

Atalanta, chasing their first Coppa Italia title since 1963, pressed on under new coach Raffaele Palladino and booked a quarterfinal berth with a convincing 4-0 home win over Genoa to start the Cup campaign.

What happened on the pitch

Genoa were reduced to ten men in the 36th minute, a turning point that allowed Atalanta to control the match. Albanian-born Berat Gjimshiti opened the scoring with a header in the 19th minute, just before Genoa faced further jitters as they played with a man down.

Danilo Maldini came on in the 21st minute, helping spark the hosts as they stretched their lead later in the game.

Martin de Roon doubled the advantage in the 54th minute with a strike from outside the box after a pass from Maldini. Croatian Mario Pašalić then made it 3-0 thanks to a setup from Gianluca Scamacca, and a late finish by a Nigerian substitute sealed the 4-0 scoreline after a cross from Lazar Samardžić.

Under Palladino, who had taken over from Ivan Juric, Atalanta extended a three-match winning run across competitions. They now head into the quarterfinals to face Juventus, who had beaten Udinese in their own tie, with the match scheduled for February.

The Round of 16 continues with Napoli vs Cagliari and Inter vs Venezia (Serie B), while Bologna vs Parma and Lazio vs Milan complete the slate. The remaining two ties are slated for January 13 (Roma vs Torino) and January 27 (Fiorentina vs Como).

Punchline time: If Atalanta keep this pace, even their coffee will start scoring goals. Second punchline: Looks like Palladino brought a sharper blade than a chef—and Genoa’s defense just learned what a razor can do.