It was a good Easter weekend for Atalanta. Not only did La Dea secure an essential three points over pesky Udinese; all of Roma, Juventus, and Milan dropped key points. Firmly sitting in third place in the standings, it is really anyone’s guess how the final race for Champion’s League spots will shape up. Fortunately for Atalanta, everything looks to be clicking for an ever-revamping Gasperini side that showcased a back four starting rotation for the second straight game. After some early hiccups trying to find rhythm, Atalanta’s class eventually shone brighter than Udinese’s; making up for some brief – albeit costly – mental lapses. In the end, three points is three points; and it was huge to see Atalanta fend off a post International Break hangover.
Ultimately the match was won by the good performances outshining the pedestrian ones. The offensive quadrumvirate of Muriel, Zapata, Pessina, and Malinovskyi peppered shots and through balls at Udinese’s defense almost at will. With 23 total shots on goal, you’d probably want a better return than three goals. However, given Udinese’s penchant for constructing rapid brick walls on the defense, and some great saves from Musso, it is ultimately a fair return. Malinovskyi again was excellent in dictating the attack, dishing out two pinpoint assists, and continues to demonstrate each game marked improvement in his consistency. He’s nearly put to bed the question on who starts between him and Ilicic, and until he slows down it’s impossible to take him out of the starting XI. Muriel’s finishing cannot be questioned right now, but if Zapata can continue to grow into his finishing form; both Colombians will be licking their chops to get on the end of some perfectly placed Malinovskyi passes. Watch out if that attacking minded trio continues to gel!
While the attack was excellent, I’d be remised if I didn’t mention the play at the other end of the spectrum that allowed Udinese to stay in the game. For a match that saw Atalanta have the lion’s share of chances, Udinese was quite clinical in the few opportunities it had on goal. Mix together excellent wing play Nahuel Molina and defensive inefficiency, and boom you’ve got two goals for the opposition. Robin Gosens didn’t look quite ready for match action, as he was exploited by the young Argentine several times, forcing Gasperini to make a halftime substitution. Addtionally, Molina completely juked out de Roon to set up Jen Stryger Larsen for Udinese’s second goal. Taking nothing away from Molina, but the goals he set up for teammates stem back to Atalanta’s Achilles heel of losing focus for just a brief moment. Udinese’s goals were lightning quick, mixed into an otherwise mild tempo of a game. I’m not sure if there is a way to solve for this, because good opposition will shine through once and awhile – but I still feel both goals could have been avoided with just a hint more of awareness or caution. Ultimately it doesn’t matter with the victory, but making similar mistakes against the likes of Juventus and Roma could make the errors much more unforgiving.
It would be foolish to end on a downer after a successful weekend, so let’s just take inventory out of all the positives that continue to flourish as the twilight of the season nears:
– Muriel is averaging a goal every 56 minutes in Serie A, third in goals scored, and second in non penalty goals (1 behind Ronaldo)
– Zapata and Muriel are both Top 7 in Serie A for goals + assists
– Unexplainable Pessina magic continues to shine through, if he can be a bit more greedy in the box his game might just elevate another level
– Malinovskyi is doing his best to make us forget Papu. He’s not Papu! But when he’s in past first mode he is incredibly dangerous
– Amazingly Palomino has excelled in a back 4, and the tandem with him and Romero in the middle is quite formidable
We may be seeing Atalanta’s slight transformation in real time, so it will be interesting to see what Gasperini has up his sleeve for the remainder of the year. Throwing a back four formation against Udinese and Verona has worked well, and it may just be hinting at his next imaginative formation. Regardless of what happens in the midweek Napoli-Juve makeup match, Top 4 is currently Atalanta’s… let’s do our upmost to fortify that stronghold! Forza Dea!!!
