Atalanta-Arsenal 0-0, Retegui fails to overcome the wall erected by a prodigious Raya

The match between Atalanta and Arsenal, a match valid for the first day of the new Champions League, ends 0-0. Good point for Gian Piero Gasperini’s team, after Sunday’s victory against Fiorentina, but some regrets for the penalty missed by Retegui at the beginning of the second half. High pace, but above all intensity and suffocating man-to-man marking. Gasperini set up the usual European match, preventing any type of phrasing from the Londoners.

The first and only chance of the first half came from a free kick but Carnesecchi intervened first on Saka, then on the shot, on the short rebound, by Partey. The Goddess also had a hard time, unable to develop the maneuver, only a conclusion by De Ketelaere, on a pass from Retegui, created problems for Raya.

After a first half lacking in chances, Atalanta had the big chance to unlock the match. Retegui missed a penalty in the second half (after a foul by Partey on Ederson): the Londoners’ goalkeeper was able to also block the subsequent header from the Italian-Argentine striker. A mistake that in fact conditioned the entire second half for the Nerazzurri, only Cuadrado – making his seasonal debut – tried a long-range shot without however hitting the target.

Arsenal entered the field in the second half with Jorginho and Calafiori: a good performance by the Italian defender, often in the thick of the action. Gasp’s team tried to raise the pace in the final minutes with a couple of balls placed in the six-yard box, but the guests responded by raising their defensive wall even more: the Orobic team collected a good point in front of over 22 thousand spectators, awaiting Monday’s match against Como, again at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo. In the next round of the Champions League, the Nerazzurri will challenge the Ukrainians of Shakhtar Donetsk: the match is scheduled for Wednesday 2 October at 18:45.