Playing in Verona is never easy – just ask Roma, Lazio, and Juventus this year. But after taking punch after punch in the first half, Atalanta managed to hold on for three essential points in its biggest dog fight of the year. A 2-1 victory that was anything but comfortable came on the back of just a few moments of brilliance in a match that had you only looked at statistics would have assumed it was played in torrential downpour. With 71 long balls for each side and each team completing less than 70% of its passes, it was anything but a glamourous match – and exactly the type of match that Atalanta may have lost in past seasons. With stronger depth to lessen the divide between the starters and reserves, Atalanta fought back hard after the initial shock that Verona’s provided and clawed its way to a gutsy victory.
The match was seemingly in Verona’s favor for most of the first half, but the most unlikely of Atalanta’s reserves delivered the striking blow to turn the tides back in favor of Atalanta. Aleskei Miranchuk who had not played more than 20 minutes since late October leveled the score for Atalanta, and ultimately steered the ship back in favor of the good guys. His smooth shimmy around the box was the shot in the arm Atalanta sorely needed, and the perfect springboard to come out fighting in the second half.
Which is what the boysthen did. A much better half from Atalanta was in store, thanks to key substitutions that brought in Hans Hateboer, Duvan Zapata, and Josip Ilicic to take some pressure off the midfield that was getting overrun. More confident bodies in the attack opened up space for Teun Koopmeiners who was able to slot home his second goal of the year, and put away the game for good. While Verona never stopped fighting, the defense was up for the Verona onslaught in the second half – particularly Merih Demiral who very rarely let Giovanni Simeone out of his sight.
Atalanta has now won its back-to back-to back road games against Juventus, Napoli, and Verona. Such an intense string of victories in difficult environments exemplifies the drive and fortitude instilled deep in the mentality of the club. Previous teams under Gasperini may not have responded to such a poor first thirty minutes, especially after bowing out in heartbreaking fashion in Champion’s League midweek, but this squad seems keeps pulling off something special week after week – all the sweeter when Atalanta’s opposition at the top of the table seem unable to do so! A great three points that Atalanta took with every ounce of its being, proving it knows how to play pretty and ugly – or whatever the situation calls for!
Atalanta Passione’s Match Ratings
Juan Musso: 6 – He spilled Simeone’s shot leading to the goal, but also did well to make a wonder save to prevent Verona from going up 2-0 early.
Rafael Toloi: 6.5 – A solid game from the captain, the only gripe is the number of clearances he skimmed across the grass directly back to Verona players.
Merih Demiral: 7 – He kept Simeone in check, as he was everywhere on defense, both on the ground and in the air.
Berat Djimsiti: 7 – Similar to Demiral, his contribution was more difficult to notice, but Verona’s right side attack felt tepid compared to what was coming down to the left, thanks to the Albanian.
Davide Zappacosta: 5.5 – He still doesn’t look right, and I would not be surprised if he is still nursing his ankle a bit.
Giuseppe Pezzella: 7 – Confidence looks good on the youngster, who looks miles better now than he did a few months back against Udinese.
Marten de Roon: 6.5 – He had some ghastly touches, but he was much better in the second half clearing up the loose balls.
Teun Koopmeiners: 7 – Similar to de Roon, he turned on the afterburners in the second half, and was rewarded for his efforts with a nice deflection leading to a goal.
Aleskei Miranchuk: 7 – His goal helped to turn the tides offensively, and while he wasn’t afforded a lot of space, he was able to wiggle forward to ease pressure off the defense in the first half.
Mario Pasalic: 6.5 – Agonizingly close to an eighth goal on the season, the flow of the match was not the greatest environment for him to succeed.
Luis Muriel: 5 – A poor display leading the line, he had neither the burst nor the finishing touch to lead the line against a trio of centerbacks he should have been able to turn around at will.
Hans Hateboer: 6.5 – He’s getting fitter each match, and while he didn’t contribute much offensively, his touch and decision making looked much more reliable than Zappacosta’s today.
Duvan Zapata: 6.5 – While he wasn’t able to rip off any shots on target, his hold up play and physicality was a welcome change from what his compatriot was providing in the first half.
Josip Ilicic: 6.5 – Saw the game out like a wily veteran, including milking an innocuous foul in stoppage time to book Gianluca Caprari.
Matteo Pessina: 6.5 – He looked really solid defensively, and brought the aggression that was missing against Villarreal.
Jose Luis Palomino: s/v
Atalanta Passione Man of the Match – Aleksei Miranchuk
How can you not give it to Miranchuk? Not only did he help Pezzella out by giving him the world’s easiest assist, his offensive work in the last fifteen minutes of the first half turned a dire situation into a workable one. If Atalanta goes into halftime down a goal, its doubtful the boys can go on and win. But his quick footwork helped make this a question not worth asking. Given Miranchuk has struggled so much for game time this year, you cannot feel anything but joy for him to nab his first goal of the year, and an all-important one to boot. Regardless of what his ultimate outcome with the club is, kudos to him for always being up for his moments – he was rewarded for it handsomely today.
Other Match Odds and Ends
Juan Musso is a very good goal keeper, but he seriously needs to work on his decision making and decisiveness when it comes to calling for crosses and lobs into the box. He probably should have been able to secure the ball that Simeone scored on, and there were several other chances that he looked apprehensive to come out on. Perhaps its not his style to play so aggressively, like Mike Maignan will do, but a little more ‘caution to the wind’ on his part could help his defense avoid some more precarious situations.
Much like Torino at the beginning of the year, early on it seemed like every aerial duel Atalanta’s defense won was easily earned back by Verona’s midfield. A testament to Tudor’s setup – this is becoming one of Atalanta’s most worrying points tactically. De Roon and Koopmeiners shored up the danger a bit more in the second half, but its a dangerous tactic that Gasperini must address as it not only negates the press, but it permits the entire opposition to move dangerous numbers forward and put the defense in spots of bother.
Luis Muriel looks unusable against teams that are up for a scrap. Personally, I thought the referee let Verona’s backline get away with a lot of dirty plays, but regardless it Muriel was still not up for it today. Zapata was clearly a much more difficult mark for the Verona backline, and this match may open up the question again on whether Atalanta need to look for another striker similar in build and tenacity as Zapata. Not that Muriel doesn’t still have a place in the squad, he just needs someone else with him to do the dirty work.
With Milan, Juventus, Lazio, and Napoli all dropping points this weekend, a gloomy midweek has turned into a sunny weekend. Atalanta will end the weekend no worse than 3rd in the table, and are within striking distance of both Milan clubs. This recent winning streak has been remarkable for the boys, and they’ve been able to win in every way possible. Ugly – like today, flashy – like Venezia, and intelligent – like Juventus. Atalanta has gone through the gauntlet of the packed autumn schedule and somehow is within shouting distance of the Scudetto! With a long season still ahead of us, but depth on Atalanta’s side, confidence should be growing each week among the tifosi that La Dea can rub shoulders with the top of the table into late winter and spring. As long as the boys continue to fight like today, nothing seems out of reach right now. Great victory, and as always, Forza Dea!!!
