Atalanta seal Champions League qualification after routine victory over Lecce
With the visitors making multiple changes after their midweek Coppa Italia defeat, it was Lecce who had the first major opportunity when Atalanta loanee Roberto Piccoli had the chance to score against his parent side, but he lacked conviction in front of goal and couldn’t capitalise.
The half was played in an entertaining end-to-end fashion, yet quality in the final third was lacking. Davide Zappacosta came closest to opening the scoring for the away side just before the break when he got hold of a strike from the edge of the area, however, it shaved the outside of the post and went behind.
Lecce thought they had found the breakthrough in first-half stoppage time when Patrick Dorgu raced clear before producing a clever first-time finish to beat Juan Musso, but he was a yard offside and the half ended goalless.
The visitors made two changes after the break, and they paid off almost instantly as Charles De Ketelaere made an immediate impact to race clear and lift the ball over Wladimiro Falcone, silencing the Stadio Ettore Giardiniero.
Atalanta then quickly doubled their lead when Falcone failed to connect with a cross, striking Gianluca Scamacca before slowly trundling into the net.
With time running out, Piccoli looked like he had a point to prove and seemed desperate to get on the scoresheet, but he was denied by the foot of the post from a late free-kick as the game ended 2-0.
Lecce were already safe before kick-off today and remain in 13th, although a winless run of four games isn’t the momentum they want to carry into next season.
As for Atalanta, they stay fifth but now sit one point behind Juventus and Bologna with two games left to play.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Aleksei Miranchuk (Atalanta)
