Lookman's run took him diagonally from left to central while Danilo scrambled to recover, and the English winger's first touch pushed the ball ahead into space behind Juventus' defensive line.
Danilo lunged with his right leg extended but only grazed Lookman's hip without making clean contact, and the referee's whistle stayed silent because the challenge wasn't reckless enough for a foul.
Lookman drove into the penalty area with pace while Bremer closed from central position and Szczesny began coming off his line, and at eighteen yards Lookman struck with his right foot aimed toward the bottom left corner.
The shot had power and placement, and it flew low and hard toward the target, but Szczesny had already committed to the dive and his right hand extended fully while his body flew horizontal.
His palm made contact with the ball and pushed it wide of the post, and the save drew a roar from forty thousand Juventus supporters while Atalanta's bench rose briefly—Gasperini standing with both hands raised before immediately gesturing for his players to recover their shape rather than dwell on the missed chance.
The Atalanta away section behind the opposite goal erupted in appreciation for the effort despite the save, and scattered blue flags waved while voices competed with the home crowd's noise.
-----
**16' - 22' | First Goal**
At the 17th minute, Juventus began building patiently from their goalkeeper when Szczesny rolled the ball to Bremer on the left side of their defensive line, and the Brazilian center-back's pass went to Danilo who had dropped from right-back to receive.
Danilo played it inside to Locatelli who was showing between Atalanta's forward line and midfield, and the Italian's first touch took him forward before he passed it to Rabiot who had space on the left side of Juventus' midfield.
Rabiot drove forward three steps while Hateboer tracked back to cover from Atalanta's right-back position, and when Hateboer closed the distance Rabiot's pass went square to Miretti centrally.
Miretti received with his back partially toward goal, and Koopmeiners arrived to press from behind, but the young Italian simply laid it off first-time to Locatelli who had continued his run forward.
Locatelli's pass went wide to Chiesa on the right wing where the Italian winger was isolated against Mæhle, and Chiesa's first touch took him inside away from the touchline while his second pushed the ball forward.
Mæhle recovered well and stayed goal-side, but Chiesa didn't try to beat him—instead his cross came early before Atalanta's defensive line could fully set their positions.
The ball flew toward the penalty spot with pace and curve, and three players jumped simultaneously as it arrived—Djimsiti from Atalanta trying to head clear, Vlahović from Juventus attacking it, and Tolói providing additional coverage.
Bodies collided in the air and arms tangled while heads met the ball at the same instant, and the deflection sent it spinning away from its original trajectory toward the edge of the six-yard box rather than clearing the danger completely.
Rabiot had continued his run from midfield after making his earlier pass, and he arrived at the loose ball before any Atalanta defender could react because Koopmeiners was still recovering from pressing Miretti and De Roon was five yards too far right.
His first touch was a shot from eight yards with his right foot, and the ball flew low and hard toward the bottom left corner where Musso had no angle to reach it after being positioned centrally for the initial cross.
The net bulged.
**1-0.**
Forty thousand voices exploded simultaneously into sustained roaring that shook the concrete stands, and Juventus players sprinted toward Rabiot while the French midfielder raised both arms and turned toward the Curva Sud.
Djimsiti's hands went to his head while he turned toward Tolói, and his mouth moved with words that couldn't be heard over the noise, and Tolói's response was just pointing toward where Rabiot had been when the shot was taken—too far from either midfielder's coverage zone.
**Commentary**
"GOAL! Juventus take the lead through Rabiot!"
"Sustained pressure, early cross, and Atalanta's defensive line hesitates for half a second. That's all the space Juventus need. Clinical finish from the French midfielder."
Demien stood with his hands on his hips while his chest rose and fell, and he was already jogging back toward the center circle before the celebration finished.
-----
**23' - 35' | Juventus Control**
At the 25th minute, De Roon won the ball in midfield and played it immediately to Koopmeiners who turned and drove forward two steps before passing it to Demien who was checking toward the ball from his position as the ten.
Demien received near the halfway line with his back partially toward goal, and immediately both Locatelli and Miretti closed from different angles—Locatelli from behind, Miretti from the right side—and their positioning cut off the forward passing lanes before Demien could assess them.
His first touch controlled the ball while his body began turning left, but Locatelli's challenge came instantly—not a foul, just perfectly timed body contact combined with his foot reaching around to poke the ball loose—and the ball broke free before Demien could complete the turn.
Miretti won the loose ball and immediately played it forward to Vlahović, and Juventus transitioned while Atalanta scrambled to recover their defensive shape.
At the 29th minute, a similar sequence occurred when Hateboer played the ball inside from the right flank toward Demien who had found space between Juventus' midfield and defensive lines.
Demien received with Rabiot closing from behind, and instead of playing safe backward he used a quick body feint—weight shifting left, shoulders dropping in that direction—before his first touch took the ball right away from where Rabiot expected it to go.
Rabiot's momentum carried him past while Demien accelerated into the space that had opened for two steps, and his pass forward found Højlund's feet twenty-five yards from goal before Locatelli could arrive to provide secondary pressure.
Højlund laid it off to Lookman who had cut inside from the left, but the English winger's shot from twenty yards flew high over the crossbar while Szczesny watched it sail past.
Some home supporters whistled appreciation for the turn despite the shot missing, and in Atalanta's away section voices grew louder because the sequence had shown their team could create moments even under extreme pressure.
**Commentary**
"Brilliant turn from Walter there, breaking Juventus' press with composure. But look how rare those moments are—this isn't Inter where he had time and space. Juventus are denying him any comfort through sheer pressure and positioning."
At the 32nd minute, Atalanta won a corner after sustained pressure forced Danilo to concede, and when Koopmeiners delivered the cross from the right it found Djimsiti at the edge of the six-yard box.
The Albanian center-back's header was goal-bound—aimed toward the bottom right corner with power—but a Juventus defender on the line threw his body in front of it and the ball struck his chest before deflecting behind for another corner.
The second corner came in toward the penalty spot, and Bremer rose highest to head it clear with authority that sent the ball flying past the halfway line, and Juventus transitioned immediately rather than letting Atalanta maintain pressure.
-----
**36' - 45'+1' | Second Goal**
At the 42nd minute, Atalanta were building through midfield when Koopmeiners received from De Roon centrally and attempted to play Demien through with a vertical pass that aimed for the space between Juventus' midfield and defensive lines.
But Locatelli had read the pass before it was struck—his positioning already anticipating the trajectory—and he stepped across to intercept cleanly before the ball reached Demien.
His first touch controlled it while turning forward, and his second was a driven pass toward Miretti who had space to receive because Atalanta's midfield was still positioned for their own attack rather than defending transition.
Demien turned immediately when possession was lost and sprinted back toward his own goal, and his legs drove hard while his lungs burned, but Miretti had already received and taken his first touch forward before Demien could close the distance.
Miretti's pass went right to Chiesa who was making a diagonal run from wide to central, and the Italian winger's first touch took him past Mæhle who had been caught too high up the pitch.
Chiesa drove toward the penalty area while Mæhle sprinted to recover, but the angle was wrong and Chiesa's pace created three yards of separation before he reached the edge of the box.
His cross came low and hard across the six-yard box rather than floating high, and Vlahović had timed his run perfectly to arrive at the near post unmarked because Djimsiti had been drawn toward Chiesa's movement and Tolói was still recovering from the transition.
The Serbian striker's finish was simple—side-footed into the net from four yards before Musso could adjust his positioning after being set for a different angle.
**2-0.**
The stadium exploded louder than the first goal, and Juventus players sprinted toward Vlahović while their bench rose as one with arms raised and voices shouting.
**Commentary**
"That's it. Two-nil Juventus and Atalanta are in serious trouble now."
"Quick turnover, immediate transition, and the finish is ruthless. Juventus have won the midfield battle. They've dictated rhythm, forced Atalanta to play on their terms, and now they've punished them twice."
Demien's hands went to his knees while he bent forward catching his breath thirty yards from where the goal had been scored, and sweat dripped from his face onto the grass below.
***Fweeeeeetttttttt!!!!!***
The whistle blew for halftime ten seconds after the restart.
**HALFTIME: JUVENTUS 2-0 ATALANTA**
Demien walked toward the tunnel without looking up, and around him Juventus players clapped each other while gesturing toward the crowd and celebrating.
Atalanta headed straight down the tunnel without stopping—heads down, conversations minimal, movements slower than kickoff.
The mission counter remained active in Demien's peripheral vision.
「OBJECTIVE: Achieve Match Rating 8.0 or Higher」
「CURRENT RATING: 6.8」
「STATUS: INCOMPLETE」
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.