Everyone always knows that injuries have not been kind to Atalanta this season. Beyond the previously ravaged backline, a significant facet of the attack has also been missing. The injury to the Matteo Pessina and Robin Gosens duo has forced Atalanta’s attack to adjust. And surprisingly the glue that has held everything together is Mario Pasalic.
Once the forgetten man in Gian Piero Gasperini’s attack, Pasalic has now become a bonafide starter ever since Pessina’s injury. And he has paid Gasperini back handsomely. Super Mario has contributed two goals and three assists since becoming the starter in the middle of October, but more importantly he has been occupying the attacking space in the box that is normally the hunting grounds for Robin Gosens.
A Four Player Tactical Swap
When Robin Gosens is on the field, he pushes so far up the field that he essentially becomes a second striker, attacking midfielder, or whatever you want to call a player hunting for goals. His positioning permits, along with Duvan Zapata, multiple players to still attack the net from balls that overwhelmingly come in from the right hand side of the pitch. Additionally Matteo Pessina is not forced to attack the goal and he can act more as a supporting midfielder. This system works well, obviously confirmed by the double digit goal tallies that Robin Gosens has put in the last few years.
But with Gosens and Matteo Pessina out, some problems begin to arise. Reinforcement Joakim Maehle, while a capable wingback, does not possess the same bloodlust for goals as his German teammate, preferring to act as an outlet right around the boundary of the eighteen yard box. Take a look at the heatmaps for this season for both players:
Robin Gosens’s heat map on the top is full of darkness inside the penalty box, whereas Joakim Maehle’s positioning is sparse if non-existent inside the box. This shouldn’t really come as a surprise to anyone, given the traits of the players. But with such an integral portion of the offense zone unoccupied – something has to be done to fill the void. Enter Mario Pasalic.
Pasalic’s heat map is slightly skewed by his time in the central midfield, but the time he has spent occupying the space around the penalty box is evident. In offense he has basically become Robin Gosens, and in a weird way Joakim Maehle kind of becomes Matteo Pessina. Like Pessina, Joakim Maehle is allowed lurk around the box in spaces he’s more comfortable and not sarge toward goal. Atalanta have been able to keep the same shape, and just by tinkering with individual tactical responsibilities the fluidness of attack has not been lost. Now it does not feel like an accident that Atalanta had one of its worst offense displays of the season against Udinese (0.4 xG), as neither Gosens (injured) nor Pasalic (double pivot MF) were in positions to exploit dangerous areas inside the box.
How To Balance The Attack Moving Forward
Fortunately, Mario Pasalic’s emergence puts Atalanta in one of those “good problem to have situations.” Robin Gosens will be back before the New Year, and most definitely be taking his spot back on the left wing. Which opens up at least two obvious scenarios for the offense.
First, Mario Pasalic continues to occupy an attacking midfield spot. He is not required to be as advanced, given Gosens’s presence, but still becomes instrumental in overloads to keeper’s right side of the net. Imagine Gosens, Pasalic, and Zapata all attacking a cross from one of Ilicic, Malinovskyi, or Zappacosta!?
Secondly, and this is probably a better strategy against stronger clubs – Pasalic or Matteo Pessina when he is healthy continue to play in the ‘classic’ Pessina role. A role in which the midfielder is advanced but doesn’t spend as much time in the box sniffing for goals. Gosens still provides offensive output on the left, but the club is more established to cut off any fast breaks with a midfielder a little deeper back to stop the counter.
Honestly, its a really unique situation to be in, and the offensive firepower Pasalic provides makes him a must start when Gosens is not in the lineup. Time will tell if Pasalic can continue his impressive play after a pretty drab season last year, but his abilities have been exploited perfectly since he has taken over starting duties – so kudos to Gasperini for trusting him, and of course kudos to Super Mario for coming through with the goods!
