Atalanta beat Venezia 3-1 at the Gewiss Stadium on Monday, and the match was effectively settled before the clock had reached double figures. Two goals in the opening eight minutes — the second of them from Atalanta forward Nikola Krstović — rendered everything that followed a matter of administration.
The opener arrived in the 4th minute, Atalanta midfielder Franck Kessié finishing from an assist by Krstović. Two minutes later, Krstović turned provider into scorer, converting an assist from Atalanta midfielder Eljif Elmas to make it 2-0. Venezia coach Giovanni Stroppa responded immediately, withdrawing Thierry Correia for Richie Sagrado in the 8th minute — a forced reshuffle before the match had properly begun. The early double did not simply put Atalanta in front; it compressed Venezia's tactical options for the remaining eighty minutes, turning what might have been a contest into a damage-limitation exercise.
Krstović completed his brace in the 30th minute, unassisted, to extend the lead to 3-0. That third goal is the one that mattered most in terms of the final margin — it arrived at a moment when Venezia had not yet found a response to the first two, and it removed any realistic prospect of a comeback. Krstović's evening was the axis around which the match turned: a goal, an assist for the opener, and then the decisive third, all before the half-hour mark. Krstović gave the system something concrete to build around on this occasion.
Venezia's consolation, Antoine Hainaut's goal in the 37th minute assisted by Sagrado, was the one moment of genuine credit for Giovanni Stroppa's side. It narrowed the deficit to 3-1 and at least prevented a shutout, but it arrived too late and from too far behind to alter the narrative. The visiting side came into this match without a point from any of their five Serie A matches this season, having conceded thirteen goals in that run. The 8th-minute substitution — Correia withdrawn before Venezia had managed a single meaningful response — illustrated how quickly the evening unravelled. A yellow card for Matias Moreno in the 18th minute and another for Juan Jesus in the 42nd added disciplinary strain to a side already playing catch-up. Venezia's season, through five Serie A matches, has produced no wins, no draws, and a goal difference that speaks for itself.
Atalanta's form arc gives this result a specific weight. Maurizio Sarri's side had collected no points from their last three matches across all competitions before Monday, and their Serie A record over the same window was equally bare — no wins, no draws, three defeats. The victory does not erase that sequence, but it interrupts it. Over their last five matches in all competitions, Atalanta now carry two wins and three defeats; the last three show one win and two defeats, which at least represents movement in the right direction. Venezia, by contrast, remain without a point from any of their last five matches across all competitions, and their last three Serie A fixtures have produced three goals scored against nine conceded. The trajectory for Stroppa's side offers no comfort.
A late footnote: Elmas was shown a red card in the 89th minute following a VAR review that upgraded his card — a detail that will shape Atalanta's squad availability in the coming week, though it had no bearing on the result.
Krstović scored twice and assisted once in the opening half-hour, and on a night when Atalanta needed a statement after three consecutive defeats, that was the match.