Seriously, what else can you say at this point? Atalanta just keep on scoring, and punishing any opposition that stands in their way. With 4 straight victories, and 6 wins out of 7 in all competitions even significant injuries to La Dea’s back three can’t seem to stop the freight train from rolling on. On the back of a Duvan Zapata hat trick (a perfect one!), and another sublime performance from Josip Ilicic, Lecce were no match in the second half for Atalanta’s onslaught which saw them concede 5 goals and 7 in total.
It’s the 3rd time this campaign Atalanta has netted 7 goals in a single game, and with 70 total goals this season in Serie A, only PSG and Bayern Munich have scored more goals across Europe’s Top 5 League. There’s little fault that can be found in Atalanta’s attack, and with 10 more goals than Serie A’s second best scoring club Lazio, Gasperini’s offense is putting away goals at an historic rate. Granted, it will be extremely difficult for Atalanta to surpass Torino’s 1948 record of scoring 125 goals in a Serie A campaign; however, it is not out of the question that Atalanta can put away 100 goals this season, and also surpass Napoli’s 94 goal effort in 2016-2017 (in their remaining 13 matches, they would only need 2.3 goals per game to reach 100).
Now going forward, Atalanta’s defense will continue to make or break their season and determine who wins the battle for 4th. With Toloi seemingly out for the rest of the year, it will be essential for Caldara to get match fit (he’s been shaky, obviously so far this year). Also, any other knocks on the back line will put either de Roon or Freuler back into the back three to cover in a pinch. De Roon seemed good enough in the back to continue his ball winning ways, but to rely on a natural mid-fielder to play in an intricate back three against much more imposing attacks is not ideal, especially with a potential Champion’s League quarter final waiting for the club.
But today’s not the day to be a Debby Downer and dwell on things out of our control. Any time you score 7 goals in a game, it is not only the highlight of the game, but the entire Serie A weekend (not just a shortened weekend). And perhaps most importantly, with Duvan Zapata looking fitter and fitter as he gets back into his groove, I cannot wait to see how much he can lift the offense and continue to be on the receiving end of Ilicic’s and Gomez’s brilliance. With next week’s enormous game against Lazio potentially in doubt due to Coronavirus complications, lets take time to continue to bask in the glory of today’s awesome victory. Let’s keep it going La Dea, and as always, Forza Atalanta!
