2023-10-26 18:53:28
Alexander Prass gave Sturm an early lead (13′), Luis Muriel (34′, 45’+7/penalty) turned the game around before the break. In the 52nd minute, storm captain Stefan Hierländer was sent off with a yellow-red card, but the Graz team still came back. Wlodarczyk, who had just come on as a substitute, safely converted a penalty following a handball from Sead Kolasinac. The Bundesliga table leaders will travel to Italy for the second leg on November 9th on equal points with Sporting Lisbon.
Atalanta took control of the game right from the start, Sturm held on very well for half an hour and repeatedly launched dangerous advances, mostly down the left side. And the Graz team took advantage of their first chance. Prass shot from the edge of the penalty area, captain Rafael Toloi deflected and the ball bounced unstoppably over the line over goalkeeper Juan Musso.
Christian Ilzer’s team continued to embarrass the Italians followingwards. Musso barely parried a header from Jon Gorenc-Stankovic (23′), a shot from Prass was too weak (25′), Hierländer failed to get the ball under control in a promising position (33′), a header from Otar Kiteishvili almost from the halfway line over Musso, who was standing well in front of the goal, went just wide.
The guests from Bergamo had a lot of possession and regularly combined in front of the Graz goal, but the storm defense initially had everything under control. When the chance arose, they equalized. Muriel outplayed Gregory Wüthrich and hit the corner from the penalty area. Atalanta now took full control and took the lead in stoppage time in the first half. Davide Zappacosta shot Gorenc-Stankovic on his outstretched arm, following a VAR check referee Duje Strukan awarded a penalty, which the Colombian Muriel safely converted.
Shortly following the restart, the next setback for the Graz team. Hierländer, who had been shown yellow following a small dispute in the run-up to the penalty, had to go to the locker room early following an unnecessary foul deep in the opponent’s half. With the majority, Bergamo initially had everything under control, but even without defense chief Wüthrich, playmaker Kiteishvili and Speedy Jatta, who were replaced following just over an hour, the Graz team got their second breath at the beginning of the final quarter of an hour.
Substitute William Böving brought a lot of offensive momentum and had the first chance to equalize (75th), a little later two more jokers scored. After a miss from Tomi Horvat, Kolasinac reached out to help, following a VAR check, Wlodarczyk stepped up and the young Pole used Muriel just as confidently as before the break.
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