Jordan Veretout and Cristiano Biraghi got on the scoresheet as Fiorentina saw off Atalanta with a 2-0 win at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on Sunday afternoon, but Federico Chiesa’s controversial winning of a penalty for the opener was the standout moment.
It was the visitors who had the better of the first half, but a closely contested second took a turn when Chiesa went down in search of a penalty and was surprisingly awarded.
Atalanta were the brighter side of the opening exchanges and Alejandro Gomez in an unusual right-sided position was, as ever, their main threat. Constantly looking for their captain and No.10, everything La Dea did had the Argentine at the centre of it.
Mario Pasalic and Duvan Zapata were involved too, but the Colombian forward, in particular, was sloppy in possession and too often looked to get to goal himself instead of teeing up a teammate, notably passing up chances to set up Timothy Castagne and Pasalic for clear shots from close range.
Castagne was impressive on the left, dominating the entirety of his flank and showing a real desire to get forward whenever possible, even carrying the side up the field on his own. There were few clear chances in the opening 45 though, and Zapata had a header from a corner that went over but was never likely to find the net.
Federico Chiesa was an outlet for La Viola and his pace meant that Atalanta’s defence needed to stay alert, while Castagne had a prodded half-chance that went wide before the break.
It was that man Chiesa who was at the centre of the action as the game finally got its opening goal. Charging into the box, Chiesa cut across Rafael Toloi and went to ground before the Brazilian ever looked to challenge him and, to the surprise of many, the penalty was given and upheld even after the officials referred to VAR.
Alban Lafont looked shaky as Atalanta lofted the odd cross into his area and a fumble should have seen La Dea level, but second-half substitute Emiliano Rigoni dragged his effort wide.
La Viola may not have held onto their lead were it not for Lafont though as the goalkeeper pulled off an excellent save to deny Gomez low and, impressively, diver the ball into the one area of the box not populated by an oncoming Atalanta player.
Giovanni Simeone wanted another penalty late on but the referee waved away his appeals before Gomez had another effort that went just wide at the other end.
Biraghi made it two with the game’s final kick as he curled a free-kick into the top corner. It initially appeared as though Pierluigi Gollini had pulled off an excellent save, but the ball was clawed out from behind the line as the referee pointed to his wrist while awarding the goal.
Papu dependance
There is little doubt that Alejandro Gomez is Atalanta most talented player and, naturally, they are going to rely on him to be their main source of creativity. What is concerning for Gian Piero Gasperini though is how they seem to look only to him to get them out of trouble.
The No.10 has an incredible ability to move the ball without it even looking like he has moved his feet, and the only time you see his leg move in one direction or the other it is because he has deliberately exaggerated the movement to wrongfoot the defender before racing off in another direction.
Mario Pasalic can be an effective player for Atalanta but he has not got the creative touch of Papu, Josip Ilicic or even Emiliano Rigoni. Duvan Zapata meanwhile is clearly lacking in confidence and desperate to score his first Serie A goal for his new club, to the detriment of his teammates.
Chiesa controversy
Kwadwo Asamoah spoke of Federico Chiesa’s tendency to go down voluntarily after Inter played Fiorentina recently, and the Italian showed exactly what the ex-Juventus man meant as he won his side a controversial penalty in the second half.
His blistering pace had the Atalanta defence nervous as he charged at the away box but, as Rafael Toloi closed in from behind, the winger went to ground after hanging his leg out in search of a challenge that in truth never arrived.
Nevertheless, the penalty stood and even, somehow, after VAR was referred to and Veretout converted it well.
