De Ketelaere has Atalanta dreaming with late goal as Gasperini's team returns to top of Serie A
Atalanta's Charles De Ketelaere celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Serie A soccer match between Atalanta and Empoli at Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. Credit: AP/Spada
ROME — Charles De Ketelaere scored late and Atalanta returned to the top of Serie A with a 3-2 win over Empoli in the club’s record-extending 11th consecutive league victory.
De Ketelaere scored two goals and African player of the year Ademola Lookman grabbed the other as Atalanta went two points clear of Napoli, which had put the home team under pressure with a 2-1 win over Genoa the day before.
Empoli forward Lorenzo Colombo stunned the hosts with the opener in the 13th minute after a quick throw in caught the Atalanta defense off guard.
Atalanta suffered another blow minutes later when Mateo Retegui had to go off with what looked like a left thigh injury. Nicolo Zaniolo went on for the Italy forward and was booked almost straight away.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s side showed no alarm, however, and De Ketelaere equalized with a diving header inside the left post in the 34th.
Lookman then scored his ninth league goal of the season just before the interval after Zaniolo laid off a cross from De Ketelaere.
Sebastiano Esposito pulled one back with a penalty awarded after a VAR check for an innocuous-looking challenge, but De Ketelaere sent the home fans wild in the 86th minute when he fired inside the right post from the edge of the penalty box despite facing three defenders.
Roma's Paulo Dybala, center, celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Roma and Parma at Rome's Olympic stadium, Sunday Dec. 22, 2024. Credit: AP/Alfredo Falcone
Atalanta won the Europa League last season but has never won Serie A. It achieved its highest finish of third place three times under Gasperini.
Roma back on track
Paulo Dybala scored twice and set up another goal to get Roma back on track with a comfortable 5-0 win over Parma.
The Argentine playmaker scored an early penalty and pounced on a rebound from Alexis Saelemaekers’ initial shot early in the second half to steer Roma to just its fifth league win of the season.
Saelemaekers scored with a volley after Dybala’s opener, and Leandro Paredes added another penalty in the 74th, awarded after Saelemaekers was shouldered off the ball.
Roma's Paulo Dybala celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Roma and Parma at Rome's Olympic stadium, Sunday Dec. 22, 2024. Credit: AP/Alfredo Falcone
Dybala set up Artem Dovbyk to complete the scoring late.
Roma looked to have finally clicked under Claudio Ranieri, the team’s third coach of the season, when it managed back-to-back wins over Lecce and Sporting Braga in the league and Europa League. But it lost last weekend at promoted Como 2-0.
Also Sunday, Venezia defeated Cagliari 2-1 thanks to Marin Šverko's persistence. The Croatian defender kept going despite the attention of a handful of Cagliari defenders to score what proved to be the winner.
Faltering Juventus visited Monza later Sunday, seeking to end a run of four straight draws.
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