THE PRIMAVERA DEFEATED BY ATALANTA AT VISMARA

An off day and a painful defeat that the team need to put behind them and learn from going forward. Following their loss to Roma, AC Milan Primavera suffered another setback today as a superior Atalanta side ran out 3-1 winners at Vismara. While the Rossoneri produced a really solid display in the capital, it was another story this afternoon. Traorè’s goal to open the scoring was an isolated incident, with the Diavolo otherwise failing to trouble the visitors, who were better in their approach and general play. Second-half goals from Cissé and Sidibe ultimately sealed the win, but Atalanta’s equaliser at the end of the opening period was key.

The Rossoneri simply weren’t at the races, with the substitutes also unable to make an impact. It was a six-pointer in the race to finish in the playoffs, and it’s a result Coach Giunti’s side could have done without. The Primavera remain on 30 points after matchday 21, three points adrift of sixth place (they’ll be four points behind if Fiorentina win their game in hand on Wednesday). The team now need to get over the disappointment, work hard in the coming week and prepare as best they can for their next fixture, which will see them face Napoli away from home at 10:45 CET on Sunday 6 March.

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REPORT

Stanga’s selection at right-back and a start for Di Gesù were among the changes made by Coach Giunti to the line-up. Atalanta started aggressively, with Desplanches doing well to deny Sidibe and Cissé early on. In the eleventh minute, De Nipoti’s shot from a difficult angle went over. AC Milan were playing too passively but opened the scoring from their first chance: Traorè displayed a real poacher’s instinct as he beat Dajčar from close range with 19 minutes on the clock. The Rossoneri looked to strike another blow: in the 21st minute, the Atalanta goalkeeper was equal to Nasti’s lobbed effort. However, the visitors started to assert control again and managed to score an equaliser after 45 minutes as Cissé fired home with his left foot.

It was a really bad time to concede and a real boost for Atalanta, who took the lead in the 48th minute: following Sidibe’s lay-off, Cissé found the corner of the net with a great strike from the edge of the box. The Rossoneri failed to muster a response. With an hour gone, De Nipoti failed to convert from the middle of the box, and the same player was then thwarted by Desplanches six minutes later. The visitors grabbed a third in the 74th minute, with Sidibe finishing off a flowing move. De Nipoti and Alesi both had attempts in the closing stages, but the scoreline remained the same. Full-time.

MATCH SUMMARY

AC MILAN 1-3 ATALANTA 

AC MILAN (4-3-3): Desplanches; Stanga, Bosisio, Nsiala, Bozzolan (46' Obaretin); Robotti (67' Eletu), Di Gesù, Gala (67' Alesi); Traorè (79' Roback), Nasti (79' Rossi), Capone. Subs: Di Chiara, Pseftis; Camara, Coubis; Foglio; El Hilali, Omoregbe. Coach: Giunti.

ATALANTA (3-4-1-2): Dajčar; Del Lungo, Berto (57' Panada), Ceresoli; Chiwisa, Zuccon, Giovane (82' Renault), Bernasconi; Sidibe; De Nipoti, Cissé (82' Pagani). Subs: Sassi; De Palma, Hečko; Muhameti; Fisic, Omar. Coach: Brambilla.

Referee: Virgilio from Trapani.
Goals: 19' Traorè (M), 45' and 48' (A), 74' Sidibe (A).
Booked: 28' Bozzolan (M), 32' Bosisio (M), 43' Gala (M), 81' Di Gesù (M), 93' Zuccon (A).

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