Raffaele Palladino celebrated his first Serie A victory as Atalanta manager with a 2–0 win over former club Fiorentina, a result that ended La Dea’s eight-match winless run in the league.

The match pitted together two recently appointed coaches, with Paolo Vanoli also seeking his first triumph since taking charge of Fiorentina earlier in November. His side nearly delivered the perfect start within five minutes. Marco Carnesecchi was forced into a smart save to stop Moise Kean’s early strike before producing a superb reflex stop to deny Roberto Piccoli on the rebound.

At the other end, David De Gea was soon called into action, diving low to his left to keep out Charles De Ketelaere’s fierce effort in the 13th minute. The former Spain international remained busy, parrying a tight-angle attempt from Davide Zappacosta after Ademola Lookman had sliced open the Fiorentina defence.

As half-time approached, both goalkeepers continued to excel. Carnesecchi stood firm in a one-on-one with Piccoli, while De Gea pushed another De Ketelaere effort wide from distance.

But four minutes before the break, De Gea could do nothing to prevent Atalanta’s opener. Odilon Kossounou’s curling cross-shot from the edge of the area sailed beyond the goalkeeper and into the far corner, handing the Ivorian his first goal for the club.

Fiorentina should have levelled almost immediately after the restart, but Kean mistimed a close-range volley and sent the ball looping harmlessly into Carnesecchi’s arms. The miss proved costly. Just six minutes later, Atalanta doubled their lead when Fiorentina failed to clear a corner and Lookman pounced to smash home the loose ball — the visitors’ 11th set-piece concession in Serie A this season.

With Palladino’s side now comfortably in control, De Gea was again required to intervene, this time twisting mid-air to keep out Marten De Roon’s glancing header. Kean, Fiorentina’s most threatening outlet, continued his personal battle to rescue a result. He saw a header cleared off the line by Gianluca Scamacca before nodding against the post with 14 minutes remaining.

Despite his persistence, Fiorentina could not mount a comeback and extended their winless league run to 13 matches (D6, L7). They remain second-bottom and five points from safety, while Atalanta climb two places to 11th, offering Palladino a promising platform to build upon.