Russia’s international Aleksei Miranchuk didn’t celebrate the victory over Sampdoria in Serie A. He remained calm and collected his thoughts after scoring the final goal of Atalanta’s 4-0 win.
Miranchuk’s goal was achieved hours after Russia’s national football team was banned from qualifying matches in the World Cup. This was because Moscow was being pushed towards pariah status for its invasion into Ukraine.
Miranchuk’s goal was exceptional and would have been celebrated in any other circumstance. After being diverted by some defenders, Miranchuk moved his gaze across the field and scored from the area’s edge.
Miranchuk raised his hands immediately after the goal to indicate that he would not celebrate. He was soon surrounded by teammates.
Miranchuk has made friends with Ruslan Malinovskyi his Ukrainian teammate. He celebrated his victory in the Europa League against Olympiakos on Thursday by raising his jersey to display a message saying “No war in Ukraine.”
Marten de Roon, Atalanta’s midfielder, said that these days had been difficult. Ruslan is experiencing a difficult time, as his family and city are in turmoil. … Miranchuk and Malinovskyi still talk to each other. They are a close-knit group.
Umberto Marino, Atalanta’s general manager, called the friendship between Malinovskyi & Miranchuk “an illustration of how things should be”.
Marino stated, “It’s a sincere friendship among two boys who represent two very alike peoples.”
After injuring his calves in warmup, Malinovskyi was unable to play against Sampdoria.
Atalanta ended a five-match losing streak and revived its hopes for a top four finish and a fourth consecutive season of the Champions League.
Atalanta was within three points of fourth-placed Juventus, with one game remaining.
Six minutes into the game, Mario Pasalic opened scoring with a diving header. Teun Koopmeiners scored two more times, the first time with an angled shot at the half-hour mark and the second with a touch from the middle of the area midway into the second half.
Sampdoria was four points higher than the 15th-place drop zone.
This round, all Serie A matches began five minutes late. There was also a peace message in response to the conflict in Ukraine.
