Atalanta beat Sassuolo 2-1 at Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia to earn their first win in nine matches, courtesy of a German Denis double.
The hosts, thanks to Alejandro Gomez and his fellow diminutive Argentinian Maximiliano Moralez, looked livelier in the opening stages, but there were no clear cut chances for either side in the first quarter of the match.
Denis tamely headed just wide from a Boukary Drame cross, while at the other end Sassuolo, without the benched Simone Zaza, struggled to breach La Dea’s organised defence.
Domenico Berardi was the visitors’ most dangerous player. Having already been crudely halted by Giuseppe Biava, he played in Nicola Sansone minutes later, only for the German-born winger to be flagged for a narrow offside.
With half-time looming, Moralez flicked on after a throw-in from the right flank. His flick was met with a bullet of an overhead kick by captain Denis. It was a stunning strike that punctuated what had been, up until that point, an uneventful first-half.
Sparked into action, Sassuolo then came close with a firm, long-range left-footed strike by Berardi that drew a strong palm from Marco Sportiello. That save ensured the home side retained their lead going into the break.
With the second-half well underway, a flurry of activity around the hour mark saw Sassuolo draw level before going behind again just minutes later.
The equaliser came from a wonderful curled finish from Berardi, played in by an accurate lofted pass by Sansone. The Neroverdi weren’t on even terms for long though, as Moralez; cutting inside Matteo Brighi, drew a foul and won a penalty. Denis stepped up to convert, firing right down the middle.
Things went from bad to worse for Sassuolo, as Simone Missiroli was sent off for what initially seemed a rather innocuous tackle. Replays showed him to have come from behind with his studs up.
Within 10 minutes Atalanta were also down to ten men. As Antonio Floro Flores turned to run at the home side’s defence, Biava slid in. It was late but, although Biava made very little contact, he was given a second yellow and an early bath.
Despite both teams being reduced in number there were very few glimmers of another goal. The introduction of Zaza did little to help Sassuolo’s cause as the game petered out.
Holding on to the lead gave Edy Reja his first three points as Atalanta coach and a crucial win in the fight to avoid relegation from Serie A.
