Serie A | Monza 0-1 Atalanta: Krstovic ends Dea victory drought
ITALY - NOVEMBER 08: Nikola Krstovic of Atalanta BC batlles for the ball with Saba Goglichidze of AC Monza during the Serie A match between AC Monza and Atalanta BC at U-Power Stadium on November 08, 2026 in Monza, Italy. (Photo by Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)
Atalanta ended their almost month-long wait for a victory, but can thank goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi and scorer Nikola Krstovic, as Monza dominated the first half.
Both teams were in crisis mode, as the hosts had lost three on the bounce and were missing Jan Ziolkowski, Michael Folorunsho, Yvan Maye and Matteo Pessina, but Cyril Ngonge shook off a knock and Gustavo Varela had his eye on the Capocannoniere crown.
La Dea were decimated by injuries and stretched thin by Thursday’s 1-1 Conference League draw against Kairat Almaty. Maurizio Sarri was without a victory since October 15 in all competition, scraping three draws and as many losses. Gianluca Gaetano, Raoul Bellanova, Thomas Kristensen, Isak Hien, Franck Kessie, Giacomo Raspadori and Odilon Kossounou missed out, but Sead Kolasinac returned.
See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.
Ebeneezer Akinsanmiro just failed to connect with the Lorenzo Lucchesi roll across from six yards, but Marco Carnesecchi was under siege needing to make four saves in the space of 40 seconds, twice on Gustavo Varela, then Lucchesi and Jay Robinson too.
Varela also fired over from eight yards on a Robinson pull-back, as Atalanta struggled to get out of their half, a rare run forward seeing Charles De Ketelaere hit the side-netting under pressure from Leonardo Colombo.
Atalanta broke the deadlock very much against the run of play, as Lorenzo Bernasconi got down the left and rolled across, Noel Tornqvist only palmed it into the path of Nikola Krstovic to tap in from close range.
La Dea looked a different team in the second half, Mario Pasalic only denied by a second by the outstretched foot of Tornqvist, then Ederson stung the goalkeeper’s gloves.
It really should’ve been 2-0, Krstovic this time only skimming the woodwork on the Eljif Elmas lay-off.
Andrea Colpani’s left-foot scorcher was palmed away by Carnesecchi, with Tornqvist doing the same moments later at the other end on De Ketelaere.
Colpani had penalty appeals rejected in added time when going down under pressure, as it remained tense to the end with Monza coach Ivan Juric sent off.
Krstovic 49 (A)
1st half
2nd half
| Leonardo Colombo |  |
48' | ||
| 49' |  |
Nikola Krstovic | ||
| 85' | Éderson | |||
| Andrea Carboni | 90+2' | |||
| Andrea Colpani | 90+3' | |||
| 90+2' | Charles De Ketelaere |
Monza
Atalanta
Goalkeeper
60
Defender
60'
3
Defender
7
Defender
Defender
14
Midfielder
73'
Midfielder
73'
21
Midfielder
9
Attacker
46
Attacker
61'
80
Attacker
80'
29
Goalkeeper
77
Defender
42
Defender
47
Defender
23
Defender
80'
13
Midfielder
99
Midfielder
75'
8
Midfielder
59
Midfielder
17
Attacker
90
Attacker
83'
10
Attacker
32
Midfielder
20
Goalkeeper
6
Defender
26
Attacker
Attacker
Defender
11
Attacker
43
Goalkeeper
8
Midfielder
44
Defender
60'
Attacker
61'
47
Attacker
73'
24
Defender
73'
28
Midfielder
80'
10
Midfielder
57
Goalkeeper
9
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