Ademola Lookman bagged an early brace to stun leaders Napoli to only their second defeat of the season, as Atalanta’s tactical surprises proved to be a masterclass.
The leaders were still missing Stanislav Lobotka, so Billy Gilmour again stepped into the midfield after the midweek 2-0 victory away to Milan, using the same starting XI. La Dea were also on fantastic Serie A form with four straight victories, but Gian Piero Gasperini pulled a huge surprise by leaving Capocannoniere Mateo Retegui on the bench to surprise Antonio Conte’s defence. Gianluca Scamacca and Giorgio Scalvini were out injured.
See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.
Atalanta broke the deadlock after a period of pressure, as Matias Olivera’s clearance did not go far, allowing Charles De Ketelaere to flick it on to the back post for the Lookman volley from the tightest of angles. It ended a run of three consecutive clean sheets for Antonio Conte’s side.
Scott McTominay almost equalised within 100 seconds, his scorcher from the edge of the area thumping the upright.
However, the visitors doubled their lead when De Ketelaere’s counter-attack and cross-field pass found Lookman to cut inside Giovanni Di Lorenzo and bend back Alex Meret’s glove with a right-foot scorcher from outside the box.
Isak Hien battled with Romelu Lukaku and charged down the finish after a lucky ricochet, while Berat Djimsiti stopped Matteo Politano tapping in the Di Lorenzo roll across and Olivera failed to make the most of a Khvicha Kvaratskhelia lay-off.
Mario Pasalic had the chance to make it 3-0 on the stroke of half-time, but his free header was wide from a De Ketelaere dinked pass to the back post.
Kvaratskhelia tested Marco Carnesecchi straight after the restart, while Lookman was offside when his lob was cleared off the line. Sead Kolasinac had the ball in the net on 57 minutes, but was both offside on the flicked-on corner and fouling Olivera at the time.
Amir Rrahmani nodded wide and Ederson scuffed off target following a mazy solo run, but Carnesecchi made a great reaction save keep out Alessandro Buongiorno’s header from a free kick, deflected from point-blank range off Matteo Ruggeri.
Napoli poured forward, but were almost caught out on the Kossounou counter-attack, finished by Lookman onto the side-netting.
Giovanni Simeone and Cyril Ngonge had efforts charged down, while the ex-Bologna winger also tested Carnesecchi at the near post.
Retegui did come off the bench and still made an impact, his splendid low volley on the inside of the right boot from a Ruggeri cross into the far bottom corner. His over-celebration, whipping off his shirt, sparked an angry reaction from Pasquale Mazzocchi on the bench and Berat Djimsiti in response.
There has been only one draw in the last 19 Serie A meetings between these clubs, 2-2 in October 2019, interrupting 10 Napoli victories and eight for Atalanta, who also won here 3-0 last season.
Napoli 0-3 Atalanta
Lookman 10, 31 (A), Retegui 92 (A)
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Gasperini,Lookman,Giovanni Di Lorenzo,Atalanta,Serie A,Charles De Ketelaere,Billy Gilmour,Napoli,Marco Carnesecchi,Stanislav Lobotka,Gianluca Scamacca,Romelu Lukaku,Giorgio Scalvini,Berat Djimsiti,Cyril Ngonge,Giovanni Simeone,Matteo Politano,Khvicha Kvaratskhelia,Retegui,Scott McTominay,Isak Hien,Matteo Ruggeri,Pasquale Mazzocchi,Alessandro Buongiorno,Amir Rrahmani,Ederson,Alex Meret,Milan
