Late Zapata winner at Torino sees Atalanta jump into Serie A's European places
Torino came into this encounter sitting comfortably in mid-table knowing that relegation no longer poses a threat, while European qualification is all but mathematically out of reach.
There was more at stake for Atalanta, with a place in continental competition still a realistic possibility, but neither side showed any significant attacking intent in a turgid opening 30 minutes.
That changed in dramatic fashion with little more than 10 minutes before the break when Davide Zappacosta raced past Valentino Lazaro down the left-hand side and his angled cross-shot beat Vanja Milinkovic-Savic at the near post.
The former Torino man was almost apologetic with his celebration after spending two years at the club before making a move to Chelsea in 2017. Incredibly, it was the game's first attempt on goal as Ivan Juric’s side failed to take advantage of their dominance on the ball going into the break.
Juric introduced West Ham United loanee Nikola Vlasic in place of Yann Karamoh and the Croatian almost made an immediate impact with a swerving effort that Marco Sportiello only just managed to parry away.
The game suddenly had an ebb and flow to it, with Atalanta’s Zapata hitting the side-netting with a close-range strike. Torino continued their improvement after the break, with Sportiello called into action to keep out Ricardo Rodriguez's driven strike.
The hosts were rewarded for their improvement after the break when Antonio Sanabria showed brilliant tenacity to react quickest on the rebound and score his 10th goal of the season, following in Sportiello’s parry from Aleksei Miranchuk’s initial effort.
However, just when Torino looked like claiming a well-deserved share of the spoils, a moment of individual brilliance from Zapata secured all three points for Atalanta with only two minutes of normal time remaining. The Colombian brilliantly weaved his way into the box and rifled home a stunning finish past Milinkovic-Savic.
It proved to be the decisive goal of the contest, moving Gian Piero Gasperini’s men at least temporarily up into sixth and the UEFA Europa Conference League place. Meanwhile, Torino remain 10th in a season that is in danger of petering out with a whimper.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Davide Zappacosta (Atalanta)
