Where to begin? In a completely dominate effort (and 180 degree turnaround from last week) that saw Atalanta toy with Torino, La Dea put away 7 goals for the second time this season. There were positives all over the place, from Ilicic’s heroic hat-trick, to Zapata getting back on the score sheet, to Gosens’ volley screamer, and Muriel avenging his Inter penalty miss to net two goals in the span of two minutes. Torino had no answer for a deadly Atalanta attack that now has scored 57 goals in 21 league matches (2nd in all the Top-5 leagues, only behind juggernauts Manchester City).
But nothing, in my mind, was more important that the hustle play from Jose Palomino that set up the first goal. With Torino pinned deep in their own box, Palomino’s neat slide tackle on Diego Laxalt put him in a prime position to deliver a cross into the box that Ilicic banged home for his first of the game. The play set the mentality for the entire game, demonstrating that Atalanta were ready to out-hustle and win every ball from Il Toro, and boy did it show.
While Palomino’s hustle play may be quickly forgotten, no one will forget Ilicic’s quick thinking 50 meter strike that put La Dea firmly up 4-0. It is easily the goal of the season for Atalanta, and will quite likely be a candidate for goal of the year across the Serie A campaign. It truly is remarkable what this team is capable of when they drive ahead offensively at full-force and match this drive with a mentality that takes no prisoners. It’s crazy that in the span of 6 days this is the same team that lost to SPAL, but perhaps that is the wake-up call Atalanta needed to drive ahead and ensure a top 4 spot. All-in-all, a truly spectacular performance, and as always Forza Atalanta!
