Atalanta left the Allianz Stadium beaten 2-0 by Juventus, but Maurizio Sarri’s frustration after the fifth Serie A round centred on more than the final score. His side stayed level with Juventus for an hour, he said, before two costly moments and a disputed penalty-area incident altered the shape of the afternoon.
Quick facts
- Juventus defeated Atalanta 2-0 at the Allianz Stadium in Serie A’s fifth round.
- Sarri said Atalanta matched Juventus for the opening 60 minutes.
- He criticised the lack of a VAR intervention after Kalulu’s hold on Rowe in the box.
- Ederson also believed Atalanta should have received a penalty.
- Sarri wants a developing side to show greater courage, energy and initiative.
Sarri felt the contest turned on “two wrong readings” from his team, alongside what he considered a mistake by the referee. Until Juventus found the breakthrough, he believed Atalanta had remained fully in the match.
After the second goal, however, Juventus controlled the danger. Sarri said the home side produced around 80 per cent of their chances after extending the lead, a shift that left Atalanta unable to recover the balance of the game.
There was still encouragement in the performance for the coach. He said the team is improving technically and tactically, although he expects much more in personality: more courage, enthusiasm and individual initiative.
“We have to become a mentally livelier team,” Sarri said, framing the defeat as part of a wider process rather than simply a difficult result in Turin.
The main grievance concerned an incident involving Juventus defender Kalulu and Atalanta’s Rowe. Sarri preferred the more limited VAR approach being used this season compared with the previous campaign, but argued that the system must still act on clear errors.
“If VAR does not intervene in a situation like that, then we might as well get rid of it,” he said. “I do not see the point of it any more.”
Ederson shared that view, saying Rowe’s shirt had been held for roughly two metres and that the contact should have led to a penalty. The midfielder stressed that the decision did not alone decide the match, given Atalanta later conceded twice.
Yet he also argued that an equaliser would have changed the emotional direction of the contest. “If you make it 1-1, it becomes a new game,” Ederson said, adding that both players and officials must improve.
He was especially angered by the fact that Atalanta have experienced similar frustrations in two consecutive matches. In his view, a penalty of that nature cannot be missed when VAR is available.
Sarri also looked ahead to the first half of the season with caution. He said any judgement can wait until the end of the first half of the campaign, but warned that repeatedly describing the year as one of construction and refusing to discuss the table could weaken the squad’s motivation.
For that reason, he believes Atalanta should set themselves a target during the week. The message from Turin was that progress alone will not be enough; Sarri wants a side that carries its growth into decisive moments on Sunday afternoons.
