Atalanta unleashed more questions than it answered on Saturday, barely scraping by against a lively Salernitana squad that left everything on the pitch. A 1-0 victory for the good guys is more than welcomed, but the process that got La Dea three points in the table leaves a lot to be desired. Had a fantastic save by Musso fifteen seconds into the second half, and a Salernitana shot that hit the post turned out differently – the end result could have been wildly different.
But ultimately in de Roon’s four match absence, Atalanta was able to salvage seven out of twelve points. Not a good, but not a poor outcome. Yet, today’s match thoroughly demonstrates how sorely needed the Dutchman will be in the upcoming stretch of matches. Mario Pasalic’s performance on Saturday should be his last in the double pivot, and the lack of an appropriate pivot partner for Freuler may be the primary reason why La Dea have looked so shaky in the early going.
Today was a perfect example, with the Coulibaly midfield dictating a lot of the tempo, especially in the early going. Things got a bit better in the second half when Koopmeiners replaced the Croat, but the reliable partnership that has been ever-present in Atalanta midfield should hopefully shore up a lot of question marks that have plagued Atalanta so far.
Beyond the pivot, Atalanta still has way too many questions to answer up front. A Salernitana side that had conceded 11 goals prior to Saturday, held Atalanta to only goal through the heroics of Josip Ilicic. Zapata looks lively, and was again today, but only when he gets the ball! Malinovskyi, Miranchuk, and even Ilicic were all shaky on Saturday, and incredibly wasteful when entering the final third. There just seems to be no synergy among these lefties, and Atalanta’s fourth lefty, Matteo Pessina, has been equally rocky in the early going (although he didn’t get to play Saturday to try to turn the tide). The ineffectiveness of the attacking front is equally worrying to the cohesion in the pivot – making Gasperini try every possible combination just to instill some fluidity up front. Case in point today, Aleksey Miranchuk and Malinovskyi combined for 25 possessions lost in around 108 minutes. No one will threaten the goal like that when the lack of key passes aren’t there to offset the lost possession.
Man of the Match- Duvan Zapata
Zapata gets the nod, more by process of elimination than anything. Big Duvan did well to turn his defender on the goal, and was very close to a second goal (that Zappacosta then bottled the rebound on!). In a match where opportunities were high and dry, Zapata deserves credit for converting the opportunities he was given. It’d be nice to seem him present himself as a bigger target inside the box a bit more often. Perhaps it allows the lefties to gain some confidence. Until one of them shows something, Duvan deserved loads of credit calmly slotting the one gigantic chance he actually had today.
Other Notes and Tidbits
- It’s unbelievable how Merih Demiral received a yellow card today after getting elbowed in the face. This is the second Serie A match in a row where Atalanta have been the side of caution when it comes to giving red cards for flailing elbows. I don’t care what Demiral said, with blood streaming down his face, it’s perplexing that he got a booking.
- Mario Pasalic was two steps behind the pace of the game today. His invisibility permitted the Coulibaly’s to assert themselves in the midfield. There’s no way that he should be allowed to line up as a defensive midfielder again this year.
- Palomino was good, but its surprising his worst match of the season comes against the worst opponent (his lack of awareness allowed Obi to get in on goal). Granted he, Toloi, and Demiral were asked to do much more than they thought they would have to do today.
- Koopmeiners was neither spectacular nor poor today. He had one nice longball, but otherwise he played a lot of safe passes and he wasn’t trying to be too aggressive on defense. It would still be nice to see all three of Freuler, de Roon, and Koopmeiners start simultaneously – just to see how it works out.
- Atalanta has yet to set up a vice grip press to force opponents into unforced errors. Salernitana had way too much time on the ball today, and again it comes back to an effective pivot. None of the Toloi, Demiral, Palomino, nor Djimsiti really flew up the field to harass an attacking opponent.
At the end of the day, Atalanta will be glad to take the three points and head back to Bergamo. The Salernitana faithful showed that playing in Salerno is not an easy task, and the sweltering humidity in the south of Italy did not make the match any easier. However, Atalanta made life much too difficult on itself. Relying on Ilicic to outmuscle and outfox a defender to set up Zapata for a point blank shot is not how Atalanta wants to be accumulating victories and points. Team cohesion is still lacking, and without stellar back line play, its difficult to say how many points Atalanta would have garnered so far this year. Gasperini’s agonizing reaction with his head on the dugout in agony says everything.
But three points is three points. Hopefully in several months everyone will look back at this match as a victory, and not the means that got La Dea to three points. Its essential to keep looking forward and not backward – and remember that the season is barely 10% over. There’s still plenty of time for the offense to click, but if the same conversation keeps popping up by the time November rolls around, the worries will be more concerning. But for now, a gutsy victory, and good job from the lads to fight through a sea of chaos for the win! As always, Forza Dea!!
