Date: February 14, 2021
Time: 13:00 CET
A wild Saturday in Serie A makes Atalanta’s battle against Cagliari even more important than it already was. Napoli winning over Juventus, and Spezia surprise defeat over Milan clogs the European spots in the league even more. If Atalanta and Inter can win, 7 clubs will have between 40 and 50 points, and it’s anyone’s guess on who would not just take the Scudetto but the Top 4 spots in the table. Cagliari surprisingly sits in the regulation zone, and will desperately be looking to make good on their third matchup of the year against La Dea – in which they’ve been outscored 8 to 3 by Gasperini’s men.
It really is quite a shock that Cagliari have found themselves in this position. On paper, a lineup that includes Cragno, Pedro, Simeone, and Godin (among others) shouldn’t be fighting for scraps in the abyss of Serie A. But you can say the same with Torino – who really have no business being in the bottom – and proved that they are better than their record really indicates. Can Cagliari do the same thing as La Granata at Gewiss last week? Let’s hope not. After a near scare midweek against Napoli, Gasperini has had to have emphasized and implored the club not to fall asleep midgame for small stretches that have led to dropping points.
A large fair recent criticism of Atalanta has been their propensity to play horrible for a 10-15 minute stretch, letting an opponent crawl back into striking distance. It happened against Bologna, it happened against Torino, and nearly happened against Napoli. The Torino match is obviously the most bitter instance to stomach – considering they were up three goals, and saved a Belotti penalty – and were completely outplayed the last 15 minutes of the first half after they were up three. A commonality between all these matches is Atalanta taking their foot off the gas, almost looking to milk the clock dry. It’s easier to do if you have a masterful defensive setup – which Atalanta does not – so almost counterintuitively their best defense still is their offense.
Drive the ball down opponents throats, and make their only options to score be half chance counter attacks. Perhaps there is some skittishness from obliterating teams with 6 or 7 goals last year, but seriously this team doesn’t know anything else sometimes but attacking. The return of Maehle and Romero to the lineup will pay huge dividends for defensive shape, but I’d really like to see Atalanta just go hog one game and relentlessly pursue goals. Why not try tomorrow?
Not saying that Cagliari will just bend over and reciprocate, but with a week off for the first time in who knows when, Atalanta can go with a full strength lineup (although I think Toloi is suspended) and give themselves a chance to get up early on the Sardinians early. Maehle and Gosens both in the game gives the midfield pivot less to do on the flanks, and Freuler and de Roon can contribute more in attack rather than covering for Sutalo. Similarly Romero’s return can allow Djimsiti to fly forward with less apprehension, putting numbers in the box that were accustomed to seeing. Hateboer’s absence still stings, but with Maelhe back it at least brings a stronger shape that permits the unit to work cohesively. Everything is in place to at least match the 5-2 dismantling early in the campaign.
Getting 3 points on Sunday is close to essential, and will put more fuel on the fire of the juicy fight for the Top-4. There’s a chance that places 4 through 7 can all have 40 points after Sunday, setting up a wild spring that will be more a war of attrition than anything. But let’s take each 3 points at a time, and with a miniscule break from midweek games, put 100% focus on the task at hand. Each weekend gets more and more important as the season drags on, let’s take care of the matches that we should be taking care of! As always, Forza Atalanta!
