Napoli vs Atalanta; Coppa Italia Quarter Final
Napoli vs Atalanta. Coppa Italia Quarter Final.
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Napoli 1-2 Atalanta: Dries Mertens scores consolation as Napoli suffer elimination
Tuesday 2 January 2018 23:04, UK
Serie A league leaders Napoli suffered a shock 2-1 Coppa Italia quarter-final defeat to Atalanta at San Paolo.
Goals from Timothy Castagne and Alejandro Gomez condemned Napoli to only a second domestic defeat of the season despite Dries Mertens' late consolation.
Both Jose Callejon and Piotr Zielinski went close to breaking the deadlock for Napoli early on only to see their efforts thwarted by Etrit Berisha in goal.
Maurizio Sarri rotated his squad for the game and one of the players he brought in, Adam Ounas was unfortunate to see an overhead kick fly narrowly wide.
Although Napoli had the better chances in the first half, Atalanta could have scored themselves through Gomez, who tested stand-in goalkeeper Luigi Sepe with a header that required tipping over the bar.
Just five minutes after the restart Atalanta took the lead as Castagne seized upon Andreas Cornelius's knock-down to score from close range.
Sarri responded by throwing on both Lorenzo Insigne and Mertens but it was Atalanta who scored the second as Gomez smashed in an effort from an acute angle.
With just six minutes remaining, Sarri's substitutes combined as Mertens nodded in Insigne's cross but it was not enough to spark a late comeback.