Wow, that’s all I can say! Who would have imagined a 4-1 score line in Atalanta’s favor against Spanish heavyweight Valencia?!? Certainly not me. A victory was never out of the question, but to go out and open up a 3 goal margin in the first leg was never something I would have expected. With such a comfortable margin going into the next leg in 3 weeks, only a 3-0 defeat would end Atalanta’s historical run. However, if they manage to score at least 1, it would take at least 4 Valencia goals to push to a tie breaker. Knowing the way Atalanta play away from home, and the pressure Valencia will have to play with to recover from their deficit, there should be plenty of space for La Dea to find the net on hopefully at least one occasion.
Now while the score line looks comfortably in Atalanta’s favor, the game was actually quite closer than you would think. Valencia had numerous chances that they bottled, and were effectively able to cross the ball into the box, but just couldn’t finish some of their chances (granted you could say the same thing about Atalanta too). Rodrigo was not in the line-up for Valencia, putting extra pressure on Gomez who had quite a forgettable day. Especially after Valencia’s first goal, you could tell Valencia was capable of putting Atalanta’s defense in some concerning spots, although it did not help that Djimsiti was a late scratch, forcing Caldara (and de Roon) to man CB positions. To comfortably advance against Valencia, the defense will need to tidy up, minimize sloppy passing in their back-third, and look to keep the pressure on in the attacking third.
There are a few things I would like to see for the second leg. For starters, Duvan getting the nod can help keep pressure on in the attack. There was no aerial presence on long balls with Ilicic and Gomez being the two up top, so pretty much any goal kick or long ball was immediately conceded back to Valencia. The shear physicality of Zapata will give the CBs something extra to contend with, even if he doesn’t win possession or begin an attack, it just adds to the pressure and something extra to think about to Valencia’s backline. Pasalic disappeared quite often in the game, so I don’t think Gasperini will opt to start Super Mario over Duvan or Muriel next time around.
Second, I love Palomino. He’s a workhorse, causes fits for strikers, and can neutralize most attackers through his constant work rate. However, he SCARES me on the ball, especially Wednesday when he was forced more into the Djimsiti role on the left side. I’m confused as to why Caldara was not out on the left, but Palomino had many questionable passes that put the team in uncomfortable positions that he normally would not do if he was playing in his more comfortable central position.
And finally, with Valencia most likely going out in all out attack mode, I don’t want to see La Dea bottle up and play to minimize damage. I highly doubt they will, but I still want to see Gosens and Hateboer bombing down the sides, confusing Valencia’s defense, and making themselves open for crosses and goal scoring opportunities. It worked twice for Hans on Wednesday, and there’s no reason they shouldn’t continue to keep the pressure on, and seal their ticket into the final 8.
Wednesday should go down as one of the momentous games in Atalanta’s long history. European football success breeds more success, and should keep bringing positive attention to the positive attacking football Atalanta bring to the pitch day in and day out. But today isn’t the day to rest on their laurels. By putting away Valencia in March, it gives La Dea the chance to write another chapter in their historic fairy tale run, and continue to be the team that everyone wants to draw, but no one wants to face. As always, Forza Atalanta!
