Only three of Atalanta’s previous 12 games saw both teams score, making the opening goal all the more important, and the away side should have scored it with just over 15 minutes played when Lorenzo Bernasconi beat the onrushing Ivan Provedel to ball over the top before pulling it back for Nikola Krstovic, only for his strike to be glanced over the bar by the backtracking Oliver Provstgaard on the goalline.
That seemed to spur Lazio into life, and their first meaningful attack arrived two minutes later, resulting in an acrobatic Kenneth Taylor effort being comfortably saved by Marco Carnesecchi.
Taylor came close again before the half-hour mark when Daniel Maldini, on loan from Atalanta, held the ball up well inside the box and laid the ball off to the Dutchman, but his shot cannoned off the post.
Both teams were then limited to efforts from range, as half-time looked to be arriving before the first goal, until a Davide Zappacosta cross was blocked by the arm of Danilo Cataldi, and following a lengthy check, Atalanta were awarded a penalty. Ederson took responsibility and sent Provedel the wrong way for his first league goal of the season.
The second half began with roles being reversed, as Zappacosta was deemed guilty of handball when stopping Nuno Tavares in his tracks. Again, a long check was needed, but this time the penalty decision was overturned, as Tavares was in an offside position before receiving possession.
Next to deny Le Aquile was Carnesecchi, who reacted smartly to tip away a glancing Tijjani Noslin header, and any lasting hope Lazio had that this was their night was crushed just before the hour mark, when Nicola Zalewski received the ball on the turn and curled a delightful 20-yard effort around Provedel and into the bottom corner.
Maurizio Sarri’s side had taken just one point from games in which they conceded first this season, and hopes of an unlikely comeback faded as Maldini saw an effort fly over and a free-kick batted away by Carnesecchi, while Petar Ratkov’s 90th-minute header hit the post.
It was therefore another impressive away performance in this fixture for La Dea, who have lost just once in nine trips to face Lazio, whose three-match unbeaten run in all competitions comes to an end.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Nicola Zalewski (Atalanta)
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