Atalanta finally broke Genoa’s resistance deep into stoppage time, with Isak Hien scoring a dramatic 90+4th minute winner to seal a hard-earned 1-0 victory after a long night of frustration.
The match was turned on its head almost immediately when Genoa were reduced to ten men inside the opening three minutes.
Goalkeeper Nicola Leali was shown a straight red card for a foul outside his area, forcing Daniele De Rossi into an emergency reshuffle and handing Atalanta a numerical advantage for virtually the entire contest.
Atalanta blushes spared as Hien saves La Dea late on
Despite controlling possession, at one stage holding 70% of the ball, Atalanta struggled to convert dominance into goals.
Gianluca Scamacca went close twice, first with a powerful free-kick that cleared the crossbar and later with a header that drifted wide.
Charles De Ketelaere, Yunus Musah and Daniel Maldini all had chances but failed to test Genoa’s stand-in goalkeeper Daniele Sommariva, who produced a series of assured saves.
Genoa defended deep and bravely, occasionally threatening on set pieces, with Vitinha and Lorenzo Colombo coming closest to an unlikely breakthrough. As the clock ticked down, it looked as though their resistance might be rewarded.
But Atalanta’s pressure finally told in the dying seconds. After yet another corner, the ball fell kindly inside the area and Hien reacted quickest, firing his header the net to spark celebrations and end Genoa’s remarkable rearguard action.
Relive all the action, as it happened, on our Live Blog.
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