Samp Primavera beaten at Atalanta despite Yayi Mpie opener

Sampdoria Primavera slipped to a 3-1 defeat at Atalanta on Sunday as the Blucerchiati’s tough run of form in the league continued in Bergamo.

Atalanta started strongly, with Traore, Cambiaghi and Kulusevski all wasting chances in the opening period, and the 20-minute mark had passed before Doria first flickered into life through Prelec, who cut in from the right to force Ndiaye into a smart diving save. Another chance came through Veips – unable to get enough power on the ball – but it was Yayi Mpie on 36 minutes who fired Samp into the lead, striking the ball past Ndiaye and into the back of the net.

As much as the goal heartened Samp, it also produced a reaction in the home side: Atalanta surged back at Doria,
with Kulusevski restoring parity before the break as he gathered the ball in the box and smashed past Krapikas for 1-1 at half time.

When the match resumed, it was at a much lower pace than the first half. And the revised tempo seemed to suit Atalanta, who took the lead on 62 minutes through a tidy Piccoli finish from inside the Samp box. Although Atalanta continued to dominate, Soomets had a good chance to snatch an equaliser for Samp but failed to keep his effort down – no such problems for Kulusevski, who snaffled a short Doda clearance and volleyed home for 3-1 to complete the win for Atalanta with ten minutes to spare.

Atalanta 3-1 Sampdoria (HT: 1-1)
Scorers: Yayi Mpie 36, Kulusevski 44, 80, Piccoli 62.

Atalanta (4-3-3): Ndiaye; Zortea, Okoli, Guth, Girgi; Kulusevski, Delprato, Ta Bi (Colley HT); Traore (Cortinovis 84), Piccoli (Gyabuaa 71), Cambiaghi (Peli 61).
Subs not used: Carnesecchi, Brogni, Heidenreich, Bergonzi, Da Riva, Louka, Pina Gomes.
Coach: Brambilla.

Sampdoria (4-3-3): Krapikas; Doda, Veips, Farabegoli, Campeol; Trimboli, Soomets (Perrone 87), Giordano (Cappelletti 76); Yayi Mpie (Amado 76), Prelec (Boutrif 72), Scarlino.
Subs not used: Hutvagner, Raspa, Maggioni, Sorensen, Casanova, Nobrega, Cabral, Ejjaki.
Coach: Pavan.

Referee: Carella.
Assistants: Falco and Palermo.

Yellow cards: Giordano 42.
Added time: 2 + 3 mins.