Serie A | Atalanta 5-0 Frosinone - La Dea run riot

Atalanta put five past Frosinone in a ruthless display on Monday evening, thanks to three goals within seven minutes from Teun Koopmeiners, Ederson and Charles De Ketelaere at the beginning of the game and a quick-fire double from Davide Zappacosta and Emil Holm at the end.

It took just five minutes for the game’s first major incident. Holm drove to the by-line on the right flank, entered the penalty area and was brought to the floor after a clumsy clash of legs with Mateus Lusuardi.

Referee Alessandro Prontera immediately pointed to the spot, and Koopmeiners stepped up to power a routine penalty into the left-hand side of the net, sending Stefano Turati the wrong way in the process.

Ederson doubled Atalanta’s advantage within a matter of minutes. Entering the twelfth, Matteo Ruggeri broke on the left-hand side, before completing a neat one-two with Charles De Ketelaere.

Collecting the ball on byline, Ruggeri sent an enticing cross into the six-yard box for Ederson to meet perfectly with a first-time volley, which he slammed straight down the middle of the net for 2-0.

Gianluca Scamacca pinched possession of the ball within 30 seconds of the re-start, springing a speedy counter attack which quickly saw Marten De Roon release De Ketelaere towards the left-hand edge of the area.

The Belgian took half a touch before firing a venomous effort in off the crossbar for Atalanta’s third before the clock had struck 14 minutes.

Ederson almost put Atalanta four to the good after 22 minutes, having been found in the area after a smart passage of play by Scamacca, but the Brazilian’s finish was lacking in direction and was blocked by the sliding Caleb Okoli.

Frosinone registered their first effort of the match 40 minutes in, but Marco Carnesecchi stood firm to deny Luca Mazzitelli, who shot from a tricky angle.

Atalanta were so comfortable in the first half that Giorgio Scalvini practically found himself playing in midfield for the final minutes before the interval. Mazzitelli had a second shot for Frosinone just before the referee’s whistle, but this time his effort floated over the crossbar.

Euesebio Di Francesco called for wholesale changes at the interval, bringing on Simone Romagnoli, Francesco Gelli and Fares Ghedjemis for Mateus Lusuardi, Abdou Harroui and Pol Lirola.

Gian Piero Gasperini followed suit nine minutes later, replacing Sead Kolasinac and Ruggeri with Isak Hien and Zappacosta respectively.

A quarter of an hour into the second half, it began to look a bit like an exercise in game management for Atalanta, allowing Frosinone plenty of possession with the majority of the team camped in their own half in spells.

Scamacca and De Ketelaere’s work was done just after an hour, with Luis Muriel and Aleksey Miranchuk coming on in their places. The switch also brought a slight shift in formation to a two up front, with Koopmeiners playing as the sole attacking midfielder.

Though they had slowed down in the second half compared to the first, Atalanta still went in search of a fourth goal before full-time. Luis Muriel’s turn of pace on the wing looked promising with 12 minutes left to play, but the eventual shot by Zappacosta flew wide of the post.

Miranchuk then broke into the Frosinone half on the 83rd minute. He laid off substitute Mario Pasalic, who floated a neat ball over to the unmarked Zappacosta, who took a touch before dispatching a perfectly-placed curling effort into the far corner of the net.

Then, on the stroke of 90 minutes, Holm rose well from a Zappacosta corner. His initial header bounced off the crossbar, but landed directly at his feet again to bundle into the net from a yard away.

As a result of their five-star display, Atalanta now find themselves back in fifth place in Serie A, just one point off Fiorentina and the Champions League positions.

Frosinone hold onto their spot in 15th place, albeit with a significant knock on goal difference.