Serie A: Krstovic and Carnesecchi save Sarri, Atalanta advances to Monza

Monza-ATALANTA 0-1 in the 49th minute. Krstovic's goal. Bernasconi crosses from the left, intercepts - but only for a moment - Törnqvist who loses the ball and gives it to Krstovic who can't miss from two steps. What a mistake on the part of the Monza goalkeeper

Carnesecchi saves, Krstovic scores. Atalanta regains victory after six matches with the simplest recipe in football: banish the crisis and above all save Maurizio Sarri's bench. Monza, on the other hand, creates more but doesn't get back up: the fourth knockout in a row arrives. A goal from the Montenegrin attacker in the 4th minute of the second half was enough to beat Monza 1-0 and gain three very important points after complicated weeks and a withdrawal that had certified the team's delicate moment.

For the Tuscan coach it was an inside or outside game, a fundamental step to remove the shadows on his future and regain the trust of the environment. Krstovic, who already scored in the Conference League against Kairat Almaty, confirms himself as the Nerazzurri's man of providence. Two consecutive goals which, while not erasing the difficulties that have emerged in recent weeks, restore confidence to a team that needed a turning point.

But Atalanta's success also brings, if not above all, the decisive signature of Marco Carnesecchi: the blue goalkeeper is the great protagonist of the first half, when Monza puts Sarri's team on the ropes and creates several opportunities to take the lead. In a few seconds the Bergamo goalkeeper surpassed himself with a sequence of four interventions, opposing Varela twice, then Kouadio and Robinson.

A real shutter that allows the Dea to reach half-time at 0-0 after a first half in which Monza would have deserved more. At the beginning of the second half, however, Atalanta showed cynicism: first chance, dirty, and an eagle goal for Krstovic. Cross from the left by Bernasconi, Torqvist is not perfect in the rebound, the ball stays there and the center forward pounces for the lead.

The victory for Atalanta represents a first response, at least in terms of the result: a glimmer of tranquility opens up for the coach, with the possibility of working during the break. The choices on the substitutions were strong: just three, without bringing in Scamacca, Sulemana and Samardzic, among the worst on Thursday. If in Bergamo we can breathe again, in Monza the moment is increasingly difficult. For Ivan Juric, former challenger, the trend remains worrying. Another setback which confirms the difficulties of the Brianza team, playing with a team with an average age of under 23 and entrusting the captaincy to Colombo, his third starter in Serie A. Monza remains in the relegation zone, with the league table starting to become an increasingly concrete problem.