Atalanta and Lazio meet again in Bergamo on Wednesday evening with a place in the Coppa Italia final against Inter Milan on the line, after their semi-final first leg in Rome finished 2-2 early last month.
That first meeting had the full swing of a knockout tie. Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and Boulaye Dia put Lazio ahead, but Mario Pasalic and Yunus Musah brought Atalanta back level in a match decided by four second-half goals. Now the return leg will decide who keeps their season alive in the cup and who walks away with another painful near miss.
The timing gives the game extra weight for both sides. Atalanta have just been knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich and drew 1-1 with Roma at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday, a result in which Marco Carnesecchi made several big saves to keep them in the game. Lazio, meanwhile, arrive after beating Napoli last week to end Napoli's long league unbeaten streak in Naples, a result that showed they can still produce a sharp answer when the pressure rises.
There is also no shortage of recent history between the teams. They drew 0-0 in Bergamo in October before Lazio lost 2-0 at home to Atalanta shortly after, and this season's cup runs have already featured a few statement results. Atalanta beat Genoa 4-0 in the last 16 and Juventus 3-0 in the quarter-finals, while Lazio dumped out AC Milan in the previous round and then eliminated Bologna on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
For Atalanta, the stakes are sharpened by a brutal record in this competition. They have reached the Coppa Italia final three times in the past seven years and lost all three, leaving their only national cup triumph dated back to 1963. Lazio are chasing an eighth Coppa Italia title and last won the trophy by beating Atalanta seven years ago, a reminder that the tie carries both history and immediate consequence.
League form adds another layer. Lazio sit ninth in Serie A and are seven points behind Atalanta, who occupy the last European place as things stand. But cup football has a way of stripping away the table, and Atalanta's home record suggests they will not be easy to move: they have lost only three of 17 top-flight home games this term. Palladino has already called it the most important match of the season, and for both clubs the margin now is simple. Win in Bergamo, and Inter Milan waits in the final.
