Date: January 9, 2021
Time: 15:00 CEST
Midweek games are always fun, because it means only 3 or 4 days until the weekend fixture! So here we are facing the other Insigne and the other Inzaghi and the rest of the boys from Benevento. Benevento have quietly strung together a solid season to this point; sitting 10th in the table recently beating firmly established Serie A clubs like Udinese and Cagliari, and even forcing Lazio to 1-1 draw in the middle of December. I don’t know a lot about the side from Calabria – asides that their logo that looks like a 1996 version of MS Word Clip Art – but they’re absolutely not a newly promoted team to be taken lightly. Atalanta hasn’t been great against the newly promoted sides this campaign, barely squeaking out a win against Crotone and drawing nil-nil against Spezia, and Benevento are clearly the best of the three promoted squads. Depth will hopefully be in our favor as Benevento looks to fight with their 3rd match in seven days for the first time this campaign, and is perhaps the head start we need to pull out another three important points.
Defensively, Atalanta are really beginning to cement themselves and continue to buck the notion that they’re allergic to defending. They’re 6th in Serie A in goals allowed, having played all the offensive whales save Milan, and should be good money to hold Benevento close to their one and change goals per game average. Gollini barely had any work to do against Parma, and even if someone squeaks past Romero and company, he’s rapidly becoming one of the better insurance policies in Serie A. I envision with Romero’s return to the middle, his rested legs will hold Lapadula and the attack in check
Perhaps a surprise to many but we got our first taste of Joakim Mælhe on Wednesday, and he didn’t disappoint. He already looked very comfortable in the wingback role, and if reports are true that he can run for miles, matching the stamina of Hateboer, we may have a gem on our hands. He glides smoothly across the pitch, can play with both feet, and knows how to attack and bomb the box; he literally can be the new and improved Timmy Chestnuts v2.0. Whether he gets a start tomorrow is still TBD, but having him as an insurance policy is huge.
Offensively the unit just needs to keep clicking. Ilicic is rounding into form nicely, and is putting a lot of Papu questions to bed. Plus the Colombians are super hungry for goal and seem to have gotten over any post International Break hangover that looked to be lingering over them. Zapata especially looks like a man possessed, and the battle (if he starts) between him and Glik will be one to watch for. The only thing I want to see less of is Ilicic shooting. The guy seems so hellbent on notching goals that he’ll miss runners into the box sometimes, or not get the ball at the feet of the better finishers on the squad (mainly Muriel and Zapata). While his lefty curlers are a beaut to watch, if he’s supposed to be the new offensive metronome, I’d prefer him to distribute first, shoot second; or at least until he finds his shooting boots.
Atalanta has another prime spot to gain 3 points – and if Sassuolo and Juventus tie have at least a share of 4th place. A far cry from a few months ago when all of Serie A was getting ready to write off La Dea for the year. It shows just how much form in football can change on a dime, and emotion – positive or negative – can really penetrate a squad. Obviously one would have expected immense amounts of negativity to plague the squad after the Papu drama, but the team has really found something to rally around and continue to string together good results against good squads. Whether its Gasp at the helm, or someone else providing a calming voice in the locker room, it has worked. Just keep the mentality high and let the results comes in, and as always Forza La Dea!
