Atalanta wins 4-1 to bring joy to hard-hit Bergamo

Soccer resumed in one of the Italian cities hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic with a poignant Serie A match on Sunday as Atalanta gave a much-needed boost to the residents of Bergamo.

Atalanta beat Sassuolo 4-1 in its first Serie A match in 112 days and the first in Bergamo since Feb. 15.

“There’s a lot going on in the world and Bergamo has been hit hard. This win was for the city, the people, the club. The worst days are behind us, change is coming,” Atalanta midfielder Marten de Roon wrote in a post on Twitter after the match.

More than 16,000 people have died from the virus in the Lombardy region containing Bergamo, and the small city was one of the epicenters of the outbreak.

Images of a convoy of military trucks driving coffins out of the city because the crematorium couldn’t keep up were beamed around the world.

The minute’s silence before kickoff in tribute to those who have died with the coronavirus was accompanied by a video of the city during the crisis, along with the song “Rinascero, rinascerai” (I will be born again, you will be born again).

Serie A has resumed this weekend with four catchup matches. There were two on Saturday and Inter Milan was also playing Sampdoria later.

All matches are being played in empty stadiums. Some fans were outside Atalanta’s Gweiss Stadium and they could be heard chanting against the league’s governing body.

The match was all but over by halftime following strikes from Berat Djimsiti and Duván Zapata and an own-goal by Sassuolo midfielder Mehdi Bourabia.

Atalanta had also hit the crossbar and had a goal ruled out for handball.

Zapata added a second after the break and Atalanta also had penalty appeals waved away on a tight decision by the video assistant referee. Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini — who revealed last month that he acquired COVID-19 — was so incensed by the decision that he was sent off for dissent.

Bourabia made up for his own goal by scoring at the right end in stoppage time.

Atalanta remained fourth but moved six points above Roma in the fight for the final Champions League spot.

Atalanta is playing in its first season in Europe’s premier club competition.

Many experts have pointed to the round of 16 match between Atalanta and Valencia on Feb. 19 in Milan as one of the biggest reasons why the virus was so deadly in Bergamo. The match has been dubbed “Game Zero” by the local media.