Learn Italian: Marco va alla partita con Luca. - Marco goes to the match with Luca.

In Italian, when you say you are going "to the" match, the preposition a (to) combines with the definite article. Because partita (match/game) is a feminine singular noun, it uses the article la. When you combine a + la, you get the articulated preposition alla.

Why do we use a (inside alla) instead of in to say "goes to"?

The verb andare (to go) uses different prepositions depending on the destination. For specific events like a match (partita) or a party, and for many public places, we use a. We usually save in for countries, regions, and certain types of shops or rooms.

Is va a regular verb?

No, va is from the highly irregular verb andare (to go). Because Marco is the subject (he), we use the third-person singular form, which is va.

Why isn't there an article before Luca, like con il Luca?

In standard Italian, you do not use definite articles (like il or la) before a person's first name. You just use the preposition directly, so it is simply con Luca (with Luca).