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Atalanta BC advanced to the Europa League final after defeating French giants Marseille 3-0 in the second leg of their semi-final.
The tie was carefully poised following a 1-1 draw in the first leg last week. Nonetheless, Atalanta proved too strong at home, scoring three goals on the night and winning 4-1 on aggregate.
Ademola Lookman scored in the 30th minute. Meanwhile Matteo Ruggeri and El Bilal Toure added goals for the hosts in the second half.
Atalanta eliminated tournament favourites Liverpool in the competition’s quarter-finals. The Italian side will now compete for their first European trophy in Dublin on May 22, against Bayer Leverkusen. The German side are unbeaten this season after defeating Roma.
The Coppa Italia finalists had 13 shots, four of which were on target, compared to Marseille’s two in the first half of action at Stadio di Bergamo, and they again dominated the second session at home.
Atalanta proves too strong for Marseille in the second leg
Teun Koopmeiners’s excellent play set up Charles De Ketelaere’s sixth-minute shot against the post, giving Marseille early warning flags.
Scamacca was the next to go close after the hosts’ promising start, striking across goal following further superb work from De Ketelaere.
Thirty minutes in, Marseille took the lead when Scamacca struck the crossbar for the home team in the twenty-fourth minute.
Lookman scored the goal; the 26-year-old was afforded too much freedom in a wide area and progressed to the edge of the Marseille box before having a low effort deflected into the bottom corner off Samuel Gigot’s foot.
Atalanta aims to win a European trophy for the first time
Pau Lopez was busy between the Marseille sticks in the following quarter. He had to make another outstanding save to keep De Ketelaere from putting the Italians up again.
Iliman Ndiaye had an opportunity to tie the score early in the second period, but he missed. Atalanta extended their lead in the 52nd minute, with Ruggeri hitting a superb goal after being set up by Lookman.
Jordan Veretout hit the crossbar as Marseille attempted to respond just beyond the hour. Despite, Atalanta never lost control, with the Italian side producing a mature effort in the second leg.
Marseille, as expected, pushed more players forward in the latter stages in an attempt to turn the tide, but Atalanta cruised to the competition’s final, adding a third in the last exchanges through Toure, who found the bottom corner with an outstanding finish.
Marseille were finalists in this competition in 1999, 2004, and 2018. However, they were eliminated in the semi-finals this time around.
