The game seemed dead in the water. A rejuvenated Ivan Juric Torino side that looked a polar opposite from the side that limped to the finish line last season had Atalanta on the ropes the entire match. But football is a funny and fickle game. As Atalanta looked to string together one final attack in stoppage time, Atalanta’s most mercurial player Mario Pasalic out-muscled a few defenders to lay off a pass to Bergamo’s own, Roberto Piccoli, who iced the game in the most improbable of fashions.
Two shots on target, two goals, and a 2-1 victory over an already much improved Torino side. Atalanta had little business winning this match, and after Andrea Belotti’s perfectly deflected goal just beyond the outstretched fingers of Juan Musso – it would’ve been hard to argue with a draw being a fair result. But the football gods often have other plans, and Piccoli delivered doing what he does best – getting in the right position. Last year for Spezia, Piccoli slotted home a modest five goals. Yet what is more spectacular is he only had ten shots on target. Small sample size sure, but the guy has the uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time and the patience to not botch his no doubt chances. He saved Atalanta on Saturday, and I’m intrigued to see if he continue doing it in black and blue rather than on loan.
Nonetheless the neutral has to be gutted for Torino. Juric’s side went in with a very clear game plan, and executed it nearly to perfection. Torino’s interesting brand of smash the ball upfield and unleash fury to win it back took advantage of Atalanta’s depleted midfield, and was the first match in a very long time that La Dea got a taste of its own medicine. It begs the question if this strategy would have been as effective if Marten de Roon and Remo Freuler had been present (in fact it was the first match since 2017 that neither of them featured), but nonetheless it was a strategy that neutralized Atalanta’s entire attack, besides a few moments of brilliance.
The biggest takeaway from Saturday was the paramount importance of Atalanta’s stalwart double pivot. Marten de Roon and Remo Freuler are the metronomes that make Atalanta tick, and something feels off when one is absent, and it can be catasrophic when both are absent. It doesn’t take a scout to realize the deficiencies when Mario Pasalic and Matteo Pessina occupy the double pivot positions, and if Saturday wasn’t the kick in the pants the Percassi’s need to fortify the squad with a true defensive midfielder (or two), than I don’t think anything ever will. Crazily enough both Pessina and Pasalic had game saving impact on the match – with Pessina’s goal line clearance and Pasalic’s final assist – but both need to play higher up and save the defensive midfield for players with more aggression and tenacity.
MOTM – Jose Luis Palomino
The weak double pivot exploited a lot of Atalanta’s weaknesses without the Siamese twins, but that still doesn’t take away anything from the defensive performance. Demiral was solid in his debut, and Djimsiti was his steady self – but the Argentine took the cake and saved La Dea on numerous occasions. Perhaps he’s channeling his inner Cristian Romero after his compatriot moved off to England, but Palomino was everywhere in the match. His speed was undeniable, bailing out his partners at the back several times, also demonstrating the ability to keep up with the blistering pace of Torino winger Wilfried Singo. Beyond some of his last ditch efforts in the box, he was an animal in the air, winning 14 out of his 15 aerial duels, and overall was the aggressive weapon Atalanta needed at the back to make up for Pasalic and Pessina’s passiveness and Demiral’s early yellow card. When Toloi comes back next week, Palomino more than demonstrated his worthiness to get the nod over Demiral – I doubt Atalanta beats or even draws Torino without him.
It’s fair to accept that there will always be growing pains in the first match of the season, and Saturday was a perfect example of that. Despite all of Atalanta’s deficiencies in the match, like a savvy heavyweight prizefighter La Dea bided its time, never really panicked, and used just enough guile and experience to somehow squeak out a late-round knockout blow and victory. In years past these are matches that Atalanta would have dropped points, and perhaps now the boys are just more comfortable with a multitude of match situations. Even with Torino’s domination in the match, La Granata had very few clear cut chances, relying on set pieces and long shots to try and get past the excellent Juan Musso – and in the end, even Torino’s goal came off a lucky deflection from outside the penalty box. It’s great to shake off the summer cobwebs with a victory, and hopefully Atalanta promptly gets back to the drawing board and figures out how to assert the dominance we’ve grown accustomed to as the season ramps up. A nervy but needed three points, as always Forza Dea!!!
