Atalanta tightened their grip on a European spot with a 2–1 home win over Cremonese at the New Balance Arena in Bergamo on Sunday evening, in Serie A’s Regular Season round 24. Raffaele Palladino’s side did the damage before the break through Nikola Krstović and Davide Zappacosta, then managed the game despite a late scare from Morten Thorsby’s reply. The result consolidates Atalanta’s position in the top seven, while Davide Nicola’s struggling Cremonese remain marooned in the lower reaches of the table.
First-half analysis
Atalanta started with an attacking 3-4-2-1 and quickly imposed themselves territorially. Their pressure told on 13', when Nikola Krstović opened the scoring for the hosts, finishing after good work from Giacomo Raspadori. The early breakthrough allowed Palladino’s side to settle and circulate the ball with confidence against Cremonese’s 3-5-2.
The advantage was doubled on 25'. Wing-back Davide Zappacosta, pushed high on the right, struck Atalanta’s second, assisted by Mario Pašalić. That 2–0 cushion reflected the home side’s superior sharpness in the final third.
Davide Nicola reacted before the interval, making his first change on 39' as Federico Ceccherini went off and Filippo Terracciano came on, a like-for-like defensive switch that hinted at concern over Cremonese’s stability at the back rather than an outright tactical gamble. There were no first-half cards, and Atalanta went into the break with a comfortable two-goal lead and control of the rhythm.
Second half and tactical shifts
Nicola moved again immediately after the restart, replacing forward Federico Bonazzoli with Milan Đurić on 46'. The change suggested a desire for a more physical focal point up front to trouble Atalanta’s back three.
The tone of the half hardened on 49', when Sead Kolašinac was booked for a foul, the first yellow card of the match and a sign that Atalanta’s defenders were being forced into more direct duels as Cremonese tried to push higher.
Palladino responded with a defensive refresh on 58', withdrawing Kolašinac and introducing Odilon Kossounou. A minute later, on 59', he also replaced goalscorer Zappacosta with Raoul Bellanova at right wing-back, keeping the same structure but injecting fresh legs on the flanks.
Cremonese’s most aggressive reshuffle came on 62', with a double substitution: Jamie Vardy made way for Antonio Sanabria in attack, while central midfielder Alberto Grassi was replaced by Martín Payero. That combination pointed to Nicola seeking more creativity from deep and a different profile of striker to unsettle Atalanta’s defence.
On 70', Palladino turned to his bench again, making a double change in advanced areas. Nicola Zalewski came off for Lorenzo Bernasconi, and Lazar Samardžić was replaced by Kamaldeen Sulemana, adding pace and direct running behind Krstović. The final Atalanta substitution arrived on 78', when Raspadori, already with an assist to his name, departed for Yunus Musah, a move that added energy and ball-carrying from midfield to help see out the game.
Kossounou, on since the 58', collected Atalanta’s second yellow card for a foul on 82', underlining a slightly more reactive phase from the hosts as they protected their lead. Cremonese’s last roll of the dice came on 84', with Tommaso Barbieri replaced by Alessio Zerbin, shifting the balance of their right side towards more attacking intent.
There was late drama on 90+3' when Berat Djimsiti thought he had added a third for Atalanta, only for VAR to intervene and cancel the goal. That reprieve proved important for Cremonese, who then struck on 90' through Morten Thorsby, assisted by Sebastiano Luperto, pulling the score back to 2–1. The late goal tightened the finish but came too late to alter the outcome.
Statistical deep dive
Across the 90 minutes, Atalanta controlled 57% of the ball, compared to Cremonese’s 43%, reflecting their ability to dictate tempo and phases of possession. The hosts’ passing was also crisper: 486 total passes with 400 completed (82% accuracy), versus 383 passes and 293 accurate (77%) for the visitors, underlining a small but meaningful technical edge.
In attack, the gulf was clearer. Atalanta produced 29 total shots, with 9 on target and 10 blocked, and generated an expected goals figure of 2.07. Converting twice from that volume suggests a broadly fair return, even if they might regret not killing the game earlier. Cremonese managed 12 shots, only 2 of them on target, for an xG of 0.62, highlighting how rarely they created clear chances. Emil Audero’s 7 saves kept the scoreline respectable, while Marco Carnesecchi was called into action just once.
Discipline was balanced in terms of fouls, with both sides committing 11. However, Atalanta collected the only yellow cards of the match, for Kolašinac and Kossounou, indicating that most of the more robust interventions came from the home defence as they protected their lead in the second half.
The victory lifts Atalanta to 39 points with a goal difference of +11 after 24 matches, keeping them firmly in seventh place and very much in the hunt for European qualification, backed by strong home numbers: 7 wins, 4 draws and just 2 defeats in Bergamo. Cremonese, by contrast, stay 16th on 23 points with a -12 goal difference, their record now 5 wins, 8 draws and 11 losses. With just 3 away wins in 13 attempts and a recent form line of LLLDL, Nicola’s side remain locked in a battle to avoid being dragged deeper into the relegation picture.
