Atalanta thumped Lecce 4-0 on Monday as doubles from new boys Marco Brescianini and Mateo Retegui gave the Europa League holders a hugely impressive start to their Serie A season.
Italy striker Retegui and Brescianini stepped up for Atalanta as coach Gian Piero Gasperini grapples with injuries and two of the stars of a historic last campaign agitating for transfers.
Brescianini, who only arrived from relegated Frosinone on Friday, stepped in for Netherlands midfielder Teun Koopmeiners who wants a move to Juventus.
The 24-year-old opened the scoring 10 minutes before half-time when he lashed in after Retegui’s header was saved by Wladimiro Falcone and confidently rolled home the fourth in the 66th minute.
“It was a perfect debut,” said Brescianini, who is from just outside Bergamo, where Atalanta are based.
“It’s better than even I could have imagined... I’m really happy to be wearing this jersey and I hope to repay the faith the club and fans have shown in me.”
Retegui was signed from Genoa after Italy teammate Gianluca Scamacca tore his ACL earlier this month and netted his first seconds before the break with a bullet header from Matteo Ruggeri’s cross.
The Argentina-born striker then won the penalty from which he scored his second in the 57th minute when he was clumsily brought down by Lassana Coulibaly.
Monday’s display was a show of force from Atalanta who won their first ever European trophy - their first major honour of any sort since 1963 - in May.
Atalanta have since been hit with serious injuries to both Scamacca and star defender Giorgio Scalvini, with a clutch of other players also sidelined.
Meanwhile Gasperini was without Koopmeiners and Ademola Lookman, the hat-trick hero from the Europa League final, both dropped as they try to leave before the end of the summer transfer window.
“No-one expected to be in this situation,” Gasperini told Sky Sport.
“I have to play it by ear right now... I don’t know what’s going to happen in the coming 10 days but our job is to build as much as we can.”
However before kick-off Atalanta CEO Luca Percassi left the door open for reconciliation with the want-away pair, with Paris Saint-Germain reportedly interested in signing Nigeria forward Lookman.
“Our idea is that for the first time in our history to not let our big players go... we can’t wait for this transfer window to close,” Percassi told Sky Sport.
Later Juventus begin life under Thiago Motta with the visit of promoted Como, the ambitious lakeside club beginning their first Serie A campaign in over two decades.
