Leg 1: February 3, 2021 – 14:45 CET at Napoli
Leg 2: February 10, 2021 – 14:45 CET in Bergamo
The brutal month of February begins for La Dea with one of three matches this month against Napoli. Prior to the loss against Lazio, Napoli have been the only Italian squad to properly dominate Atalanta this season dismantling them 4-1 very early in the campaign. Both clubs look different since that encounter, obviously with Papu Gomez not featuring for La Dea, and young stalwart Victor Oshimen – who really stood out against Atalanta – still getting back to match fitness. Both clubs are in real need of pumping the brakes on their fixture schedule, but considering both are still in European competition, there’s no rest for the weary. Fortunately for La Dea, Cristian Romero is now available after a false positive COVID test and Mario Pasalic made his return to the squad after several month recovering from a hernia. Hateboer remains the only injured starter, putting quite a significant workload on the Danish signing Joakim Maehle. Otherwise, the club is in quite good shape in terms of health, where burnout becomes the only true issue.
With Juventus defeating Inter on the road on Tuesday, The Old Lady is now in the driver’s seat to advance to the finals in the other leg. Similar to Juventus, Atalanta’s main objective needs to be putting up away goals. A draw or even a 1 goal loss would be acceptable as long as La Dea can find the net on multiple occasions. The 3M attack has worked quite well in the Coppa so far, with Miranchuk (2), Muriel (1), and Malinovskyi (1) all slotting home goals; I don’t envision Gasperini tinkering too much with this lineup, as the guys seem to be developing a relatively effective working relationship together. Battling the likes of Koulibaly will be the biggest test for the trio, but being able to put three past a Lazio back three (even if lead footed Hoedt played dismally) is encouraging for at least getting shots on goal. The match will be open, and given the technical ability of the attacking three, chances will be available. The name of the game is now capitalization!
Sunday’s performance against Lazio was a great learning lesson for the squad, mainly proving the importance of having a rock in the middle of the pitch, and pacy wingers. Fortunately, Romero is back and hopefully displaces Palomino to the bench – save him for Torino if he must play – and Gosens is back after picking up a stupid yellow against Milan that forced a suspension against Lazio. Having two of the most important defensive players back and available is essential to stopping Napoli’s quick and slashing attack, especially having Gosens being able to handle both Lozano and di Lorenzo. Ruggeri showed that he doesn’t have the pace to keep up with the faster wingers in Serie A, as Lazzari thoroughly burned him throughout the game. Due to Hateboer’s injury forcing Maehle to play on the right, Gosens will be absolutely necessary. Perhaps his suspension and a week off from match time will be a blessing in disguise!?
At the beginning of the Coppa Round of 16, I was unsure if I wanted Atalanta to advance and exhaust too much energy on three fronts – with the Coppa being the least important competition. Well know we’re here, with four clubs left and Atalanta are fortunate to still be in the race. There’s no reason not to go for the final push now and try and hoist the trophy. There should be fire in the squad’s blood after getting bullied by Gattuso early on, and hopefully the Lazio game will be a wakeup call that focus and aggression is needed from minute 1. Atalanta has started quite poorly this season, and I think the first 10 minutes will be definitive in shaping up leg 1 and what is subsequently needed for leg. Come out flat, it’ll be a long match… but come out firing and challenging Insigne, Lozano, and Zielinski, I’m confident Atalanta can put forth a strong challenge to earn a sorely needed draw or victory. It would be nice to hoist some hardware, and Wednesday is the next step to making that dream a reality! Wednesday should dictate how the second leg goes, as Napoli must decide how to match up against a Genoa club that is surging at the right time – while Atalanta gets a nice dice roll against a Torino squad in turmoil. But for now let’s take one match at a time, and when the weekend comes, shift gears to stopping Belotti! And as always, Forza La Dea!
