An extra few days of rest to begin 2022 looked to do Atalanta a whole lot of good, as Gian Piero Gasperini’s men thoroughly dismantled a shorthanded Udinese side by a score of 6-2. Such an offensive output was long overdue for Atalanta who had not scored six plus goals in a match since Brescia in July of 2020. It took Atalanta until the 80th minute to reach the four-goal mark, but even so, La Dea put the outcome to bed rather quickly – slotting home three goals before halftime. Mario Pasalic, Luis Muriel, and Ruslan Malinovskyi were all the benefactors of strong teamwork and buildup play to their goals – making Sunday’s match the first instance in quite sometime where Atalanta actually looked comfortable against a squad destined to line up on the defense.
Which does raise the question – did Duvan Zapata’s absence actually benefit the offensive flow? Now I’m not suggesting that the club is better off without the big Colombian, but his absence did force Atalanta to offer up some creativity besides the usual hoof it up the pitch we had grown accustomed to. Its certainly a possibility that a freer flowing front line in which all three attackers were weaving around adding to the unpredictability of the attack. It’s tougher to offer up the offense witnessed on Sunday with Duvan on the pitch, but perhaps with a bit more confidence instilled throughout the team, a similar unpredictable mentality can continue to course through the squad’s veins.
Nonetheless, Sunday was a day of positives and encouragement. Muriel got his mojo back, Joakim Maehle netted his first goal in Bergamo, and even Aleksei Miranchuk chipped in with two clever assists. If Sunday was just a bit of foreshadowing of what’s to come for the rest of the season, there should be a lot more excitement to witness on the weekends.
Atalanta Passione Match Ratings
Juan Musso: 7 – Even with two goals conceded, he made the saves he needed to, and was comfortable corralling crosses.
Rafael Toloi: 7 – He was quiet on offense, but he was a handful for Gerard Deulofeu and Beto all match.
Jose Luis Palomino: 6.5 – He missed his mark on Deulofeu once in a dangerous area, but he ultimately held his own well in the middle of the defense.
Berat Djimsiti: 6.5 – Its questionable if he should have done better on Nehuel Molina’s strike that he guided into the goal, but he was steady beyond his only blunder.
Joakim Maehle: 7.5 – Tricky footwork and dribbling coupled with his first career goal makes it a pretty good day at the offense for the Dane.
Giuseppe Pezzella: 7 – Pezzella continues to make the most of his opportunities in Gosens’s absence, doing much better in his second start against Udinese this season.
Marten de Roon: 6.5 – An early yellow card forced him off at halftime, but he was a nice metronome in the first half, keeping the pressure in Udinese’s half.
Teun Koopmeiners: 7.5 – No goal contributions for the Dutchman, but his passing and dribbling coupled with excellent strength defensively makes him a must start until further information says otherwise.
Ruslan Malinovskyi: 7 – The assists aren’t rolling in this year for the Ukrainian, but his offensive output continues to be strong as of late.
Mario Pasalic: 7 – Elite positioning and awareness notches Super Mario another goal, giving him 8 on the year.
Luis Muriel: 8 – Two brilliant goals were nearly outdone by his clever dribbling and movement; he hasn’t looked like this all year.
Matteo Pessina: 7 – Solid defense and his first Serie A goal of the year is the ideal outing for a man needing to build back up the game minutes.
Aleskei Miranchuk: 7.5 – As good as Muriel’s goals may have been, deciding which of Miranchuk’s two assist was better may be a tougher task.
Hans Hateboer: 7 – The pace is coming back, and he exquisitely set up the Miranchuk – Maehle connection for the fifth goal.
Josip Ilicic: s/v
Giorgio Cittadini: s/v, but congrats to the youngster for nothing his first senior appearance!
Atalanta Passione Man of the Match – Luis Muriel
With all the drama that has been surrounding Muriel amid an imminent departure from Bergamo, Sunday’s match hopefully silenced the pundits and keyboard jockeys on the rumor mill. Muriel put away two vintage goals that hopefully has marked the return of the goal scorer Atalantini have come to adore. After Sunday’s brace the confidence has to have rejuvenated him, and its time for Atalanta to employ a little bit of Colombian thunder and lightning.
Other Match Odds and Ends
At the end of the match, after Luis Muriel came off, Atalanta’s five forward players were all left footed: Ilicic, Miranchuk, Malinovskyi, Pessina, and Koopmeiners. As interesting as such a tid bit may be, the reliance on left footed players reinforces the necessity of bringing in a right footed attacker like Jeremie Boga.
Joakim Maehle finally got his first goal in Atalanta colors, coming nearly one year after his transfer to Bergamo. Its not as if Maehle was brought to the squad for scoring, but it must feel awfully good for the Dane to finally get his first goal, especially given the prolific nature at which he scores for his national side. Perhaps there was a small monkey he finally got off his back, and there’s another level we all see?
The original COVID situation was Palomino and Musso would be left out of the matchday squad. Both of them looked to have recovered, but now Marco Sportiello, Merih Demiral, and Roberto Piccoli were all out of the matchday squad. With a midweek Coppa Italia match Venezia and an enormous Top 4 battle against Inter in a week’s time, getting Demiral and Piccoli back for depth purposes is vital.
With a game in hand over many direct rivals, Atalanta still looks poised to duke it out for the Top 4. Now nine points clear of Roma and Lazio, and three points over Juventus – there’s few rivals realistically left vying for Champion’s League positions. Juventus is never dead in the water, and even Fiorentina are within striking distance to make noise. Sunday has got me charged- so let’s bring on all challengers, we’ll be ready! A great victory, and as always Forza Dea!!!
