Atalanta storm to victory over Spezia in seven-goal thriller

Atalanta booked their spot in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia with a thrilling 5-2 win over a determined Spezia.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s side looked fired up in their emphatic 8-2 thrashing of Salernitana on the weekend and they carried this momentum into their Coppa Italia Round of 16 clash with the Aquilotti, who held la Dea to a 2-2 draw just two weeks ago.

Atalanta took an early two-goal lead thanks to Ademola Lookman, who poked in a headed effort from just a yard out after 10 minutes to put his side 1-0 up before finding his brace just two minutes later with a strong drilled strike following a slick one-two with Duvan Zapata.

Spezia kept their heads held high, however, and responded with one of their own in the 14^th minute, when a quick bit of vertical play saw Albin Ekdal through on goal. The 33-year-old Swede shook off the defender and blasted the ball into the back of the net, clawing one back for the away side.

In the 27^th minute, Atalanta restored their two-goal cushion after some fast passing play left Hans Hateboer in a few yards of space in the Spezia penalty area, allowing him to slot the ball past Petar Zovko to make it 3-1.

Spezia showed their resilience throughout the first half and managed to find another goal in the run-up to half time. A moment of poor defending allowed Daniele Verde to place his shot past Juan Musso from eight yards out, putting the home side in a little more danger once again.

The second half was a much cagier affair until Atalanta put one foot into the quarter-finals in the 72^nd minute of the cup clash. Rasmus Hojlund netted the most aesthetically pleasing effort of the match, latching onto a lovely pass from Luis Muriel before launching his strike onto the underside of Zovko’s crossbar, making his effort almost unsavable as it ricocheted into the net.

In the dying minutes of the match, Ethan Ampadu closed out a miserable afternoon for Spezia with his unfortunate own goal, putting the home side far out of reach.

It was a confident and exciting showing from Atalanta, who’ll now face Inter in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia.