Demien struck first-time with his right foot from eight yards, and the finish was clinical—placed rather than powered, aimed toward the bottom corner where Onana had no chance of reaching it after committing to Lookman's angle.

3-0.

The stadium noise started scattered—individual shouts of surprise rather than coordinated celebration—and then it swelled into a roar that carried disbelief mixed with joy, and across the pitch Atalanta's players celebrated with more restraint than the first two goals because professional instinct warned that overconfidence could still be punished.

The Curva Nord jumped as one while scarves waved overhead, and the drums that had been beating steadily all match suddenly accelerated their rhythm while voices merged into a single sustained cheer that echoed off the concrete stands.

Commentary

"Three-nil! This is becoming a demolition!"

"Look at how that developed—poor clearance from their own corner, Demien Walter reading the second ball faster than anyone else, immediate transition, clinical finish. That's elite-level reading of the game combined with composure in front of goal that destroys organized defenses."

"Inter's tactical approach has completely backfired. They pushed high trying to get back into the match and Atalanta have punished them ruthlessly on the counter. This could get worse before halftime."

On Inter's bench, head coach Simone Inzaghi stood frozen with both hands pressed against his head, and his eyes stared at the pitch without blinking for three full seconds before he spun toward his assistant and his mouth moved rapidly with words that couldn't be heard over the crowd noise, and his right hand gestured frantically toward the pitch while his assistant nodded and immediately began relaying instructions to the nearest substitute warming up.

On Atalanta's bench, Gasperini's right fist pumped once—brief and controlled—and then his voice cut through the celebration as he shouted toward Koopmeiners and De Roon with both hands gesturing downward in the universal signal to drop deeper and stay compact.

Near the halfway line, Bolu Marino stared at the turf while the celebration happened around him, and his hands hung at his sides while his chest rose and fell with heavy breathing, and when Brozović walked past and said something Bolu's head just shook once side to side without his eyes lifting from the grass.

***

32' - 33' | Brief Pause

The match restarted with Inter's passing immediately sloppy—Barella's first ball rolled three yards behind his intended target, Çalhanoğlu's touch pushed forward too heavy and went straight to De Roon, Brozović's attempted switch sailed out of play for an Atalanta throw-in—and the simple errors compounded as communication broke down between players who were normally well-organized.

At the 33rd minute, Barella tried to drive forward with the ball but his second touch was too far ahead and allowed De Roon to step across and win possession easily, and Atalanta circulated backward again without urgency because managing the game mattered more than extending the lead unnecessarily.

***

34' - 45'+2' |

At the 36th minute, Demien received a pass from Koopmeiners in central midfield and immediately he could see Bolu closing from his left, but instead of playing safe he took one touch forward into the space Bolu was trying to defend, and when the Nigerian midfielder lunged to challenge Demien simply dragged the ball sideways with his right foot and accelerated past while Bolu's momentum carried him too far.

The crowd whistled appreciatively at the skill, and Bolu scrambled to recover with his legs churning and his hands reaching out to grab Demien's shirt but the fabric slipped through his fingers, and Demien had already released the ball to Malinovskyi before secondary pressure arrived.

At the 39th minute, the pattern repeated when Demien dropped deep to receive from Hateboer, and Bolu tracked him because letting Demien turn in that position had already cost two goals, but when Bolu arrived with his body already committed to the challenge Demien had laid the ball off first-time to Lookman and spun away into space.

Bolu's challenge met nothing but air, and his right foot kicked through where the ball had been half a second earlier, and he stumbled forward two steps before catching his balance while Demien was already ten yards away receiving the return pass from Lookman.

At the 41st minute, the yellow card came.

Demien received a pass from De Roon thirty yards from Inter's goal, and Bolu closed from behind with his legs driving hard and his eyes locked on the ball, but his timing was wrong—he arrived as Demien was already touching the ball forward with his first touch—and Bolu's right boot came through Demien's left ankle rather than winning the ball cleanly.

Fweeeeeetttttttt!!!!!

The whistle blew immediately and sharply.

The referee's arm shot up while his other hand reached toward his chest pocket without hesitation, and Bolu's hands raised immediately with palms facing outward while his head shook side to side in protest though his eyes showed he knew the challenge had been late.

The yellow card appeared—bright against the evening lights—and the Gewiss Stadium crowd responded with a sustained high-pitched whistle that started in the Curva Nord and spread across all four stands, and the sound was relentless and mocking while Bolu stood with both hands on his hips and his jaw clenched so tight the muscles in his neck bulged.

Demien got up without complaint and jogged away while brushing grass off his shorts, and Bolu stood alone for three seconds before turning to walk back toward his position while the whistling continued and his head stayed down.

Commentary

"That's a frustrated challenge from Bolu Marino," the lead commentator said. "He's been asked to control Demien Walter while also providing cover for a defense that's been caught too high repeatedly. The tactical burden on one player has been immense tonight."

"Inter's setup has created an impossible situation. You can't ask your defensive midfielder to mark the opposition's best creator, cover transitions, and protect against counters all simultaneously. Tonight that's been exposed completely."

The final minutes of the half passed without major incident as Atalanta deliberately slowed the game—keeping possession through simple passes, recycling backward when pressure arrived, forcing Inter to work for every touch without creating clear opportunities.

At 45'+1', the fourth official raised his board showing two minutes of added time, and those two minutes felt longer for Inter than the previous forty-three because the ball barely entered Atalanta's defensive third.

Atalanta kept it in their back line—Musso to Tolói, Tolói to Djimsiti, Djimsiti back to Musso—and when Inter's forwards tried to press the passes just went around them in wide arcs that maintained possession without risk.

At 45'+2', Brozović attempted one final long ball toward Lautaro Martínez, but Demiral headed it clear without difficulty and the ball rolled harmlessly toward the touchline.

Fweeeeeetttttttt! Fweeeeeetttttttt! Fweeeeeetttttttt!

The whistle blew three times—short, sharp, final—and halftime arrived.

HALFTIME: ATALANTA 3-0 INTER

The scoreline appeared on the big screen while both sets of players began walking toward the tunnel, and Atalanta moved with calm satisfaction—conversations flowing normally, some players smiling, others staying focused—while Inter trudged with heads down and shoulders visibly lower than they'd been at kickoff, and nobody spoke while their boots scraped against the grass.

Demien walked slowly while his breathing stayed controlled, and the statistics appeared briefly on the television broadcast:

Demien Walter - First Half:

2 Goals

1 Assist

38 Touches

31/34 Passes (91%)

3/4 Dribbles Completed

7/9 Duels Won

Near the tunnel entrance, Bolu walked straight down the concrete corridor without looking at anyone—not his teammates when Brozović tried to say something, not the coaches standing near the entrance, not the fans who were still whistling from the stands—and his face was set with his jaw locked tight and his eyes fixed on the ground three feet ahead of him while his hands stayed clenched into fists at his sides.

The mission objective remained active in Demien's peripheral vision:

「OBJECTIVE: Make Opponent DM (Bolu Marino) Feel Hopeless」

「PROGRESS: ONGOING」

「REWARD: 100 SP」

The damage was already done.

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