The Colombians Duván Zapata and Luis Muriel, Atalanta forwards, and David Ospina, Naples goalkeeper, will meet this Wednesday in a derby corresponding to the second leg of the Italian Cup semifinals, with a ticket to the final at stake.
The first leg, played last week at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium in Naples, ended 0-0 and saw Ospina as the protagonist, making at least three worthwhile saves, one of them from Duván’s header.
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A Colombian “derby” that will experience a new chapter this Wednesday at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo, between two teams experiencing difficult moments and who stumbled on the last day of the Italian Serie A.
Atalanta, Real Madrid’s rival in the knockout stages of the Champions League, wasted 3-0 in favor and drew 3-3 against Torino while Napoli fell 1-2 on their visit to Genoa at the stadium Marassi.
Muriel started the Atalanta game, in which he scored and offered an assist. He left the pitch in the 58th minute to make way for Duván, who had started on the bench to save energy in view of the cup duel on Wednesday.
At Naples, Granada’s rival in the Europa League round of 32, Ospina started for the fourth consecutive game and surrendered to two goals from Macedonian Goran Pandev. He was not at fault in both targets, originating in serious distractions from the defense.
Neapolitan coach Gennaro Gattuso is giving him a lot of confidence. He appreciates his leadership and his quality of playing the ball with his feet, which is fundamental to his game based on building from his penalty area.
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“We have a great relationship with Duván and Muriel. Having Colombians doing well in Serie A is great,” acknowledged Ospina at the end of last week’s cup game, after spending several minutes talking with his compatriots.
The Colombian international goalkeeper won the Italian Cup last year, after winning the final against Juventus through penalties, while Duván and Muriel lost to Lazio in the 2019 final. Beyond Atalanta’s latest negative results , Muriel and Duván are experiencing a season of high level.
Muriel scored fifteen goals, between Serie A, the Italian Cup and the Champions League, while Duván has eleven, eight in Serie A and three in the European Cup. Both Napoli and Atalanta will compete this Wednesday knowing the eventual rival in the final, as the other semifinal duel will be played on Tuesday between Juventus Turin and Inter Milan.
The first leg, played last week at the San Siro, ended with Juventus victory 2-1 thanks to a brace by Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo. Argentine Lautaro Martínez scored at Inter, who will start this Tuesday together with Belgian Romelu Lukaku.
Time: 2:45 pm
TV: DIrectv Sports (Canal 612)
EFE
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