In what quite rapidly became a war of attrition For Atalanta, La Dea firmly held its own – standing toe to toe with Inter Milan, in what was one of the best scoreless draws of the season. A depleted Atalanta squad forced manager Gian Piero Gasperini to adjust to a back-4 formation for the first time this year, with Berat Djimsiti the odd man out forced to play at right fullback. Yet somehow it all came together for Atalanta. Even though Inter held onto possession for a healthy 64% of the match, it was anything but one way traffic for the Nerazzurri. Atalanta’s press was still herculean, with Gasperini employing the ‘triple pivot’ for the first time this year in the midfield, and everyone including the attackers were contributing on defense.
Even with few opportunitiescreated, Atalanta had opportunities to squeeze out three points. But given the way the buildup to the match unfolded, playing with such a depleted squad against a full strength lineup – that also happens to be the best in Italy – one cannot not be happy with a point. While the point may not do a whole lot for Atalanta’s position in the table, it at least prevent Inter from gaining more ground on La Dea, still leaving a glimmer of hope for Atalanta to strike at the Scudetto. For now, let’s take the point and bolt, and also pray that the squad gets healthy come Saturday.
Recapping the Three Minor Keys to Three Big Points
Three points may not have transpired, but Atalanta still did a lot of little things well to prevent Inter from overloading on the attack. In fact, Sunday was the first time this year that Inter has finished a match scoreless (and the first time in 29 Serie A matches). So while a recap below of the keys illustrated in the preview may not all have come to fruition, the sum of the little things Atalanta did well tallied up in an important way.
Pepper Shots on Target – Atalanta did its best firing away at Samir Handanovic, but the Slovenian was up for the task today, saving all six shots on target. Fantastic saves against Matteo Pessina and Luis Muriel in near one on one situations saved Inter from going down a goal in the second half.
Keep Edin Dzeko Far from the Eighteen – Atalanta’s press was strong, and the midfield trio of Teun Koopmeiners, Remo Freuler, and Marten de Roon made life very difficult for Inter’s supreme midfield trio. This forced a lot of long balls up to Alexis Sanchez and Edin Dzeko, and Dzeko specifically got very few chances to make magic happen during the run of play. He did blast five shots off target, including a very inviting header laid up by Denzel Dumfries, but otherwise Dzeko had only one dangerous chance, beating Remo Freuler for pace, but his cross was expertly put wide by Giuseppe Pezzella.
Force Inter to Defend Further Away from Goal – The name of the game for Atalanta today was not to control possession and lurk around the box – making it a bit more challenging to isolate Inter’s back three. However, two of Atalanta’s best chances still came using speed in guile against Inter defenseman far away from the confines of the 18-yard box. First was Muriel expertly using his speed to rinse Alessandro Bastoni, creating a break away opportunity. Luckily for Inter, the passage of play dragged Muriel a bit too far wide of goal, forcing a very tough angle that – to his credit – the Colombian still almost banged home. Second was Mario Pasalic’s deft touch beating Danilo D’Ambrosio, resorting in a dangerous attacking coming from the left side. It would have been preferable to see him square a pass rather than shoot, but it goes to show that Inter can be put in compromising situations when the normally composed backline gets thrown out of sorts in transitions.
Atalanta Passione’s Match Ratings
Juan Musso: 7.5 – An elite save against Sanchez, kept the match level, and Musso didn’t put a foot wrong the entire match.
Defense: 7.5 – Atalanta’s two centerback formation was all over the place, hassling Dzeko and Sanchez like it was a sudden death match. Palomino again works well in a two centerback system, and the Demimino connection may be the most unorthodox defender pairing in all of Europe. But it gets results!
Fullbacks: 7 – Ivan Perisic was a difficult matchup for Berat Djimsiti, who still held well playing out of position – but the accolades have to go to Giuseppe Pezzella and his excellent defensive work. The young Neopolitan’s clearance against Matteo Darmian, plus a couple of key blocks and clearances in the waning minutes of the match sealed the game for Atalanta.
Midfield: 8 – The ‘triple pivot’ several have wanted for awhile came good and then some. The trio’s engine in the press was elite, and nearly bullied Marcelo Brozovic to a goal. Naturally they got tired as the game carried on, getting to 50/50s a half step too late by the end, but all their work in the first 75 minutes got Atalanta into a position to earn much needed points.
Attack: 7 – This score goes beyond the offensive contribution, but a much-needed shout has to go out for the defensive work put in. Beyond extending the press forward, all three forwards shuttled back when needed, clogging up valuable acres of defensive real estate that Inter could do nothing with.
Atalanta Passione Man of the Match – Teun Koopmeiners
Take your pick on this. Musso, Demiral, Palomino, and Remo Freuler are all good shouts; but, Teun Koopmeiners is the pick of the crop. From pressing Handanovic to standing side-by-side with the centerbacks, Koopmeiners was literally everywhere on the pitch making his presence known. As if there’s not enough to wow you about the young Dutchman, Sunday was an incredible display of his strength in the dribble. Multiple instances he fended off Inter defenders to keep a dribble alive, including the brutish Milan Skriniar, adding just another tool to his seemingly limitless bag of tricks.
A point earned in the table may not amount to much in the grand scheme of the season, but its hogwash to think that this match wasn’t paramount for Atalanta. With Duvan Zapata, Robin Gosens, Rafael Toloi, Josip Ilicic, Ruslan Malinovskyi, Hans Hateboer, Joakim Maehle, and even Davide Zappacosta all sidelined for one reason or another – the shot in the arm picked up from playing with a depleted squad has to be a supreme motivator. Doubly so when it is against the best team in Italy with next to no injury issues. The boys have to be extremely pleased with their performance on Sunday, stay healthy, and rest up for another huge match next week against Lazio.
No crying from the squad or the tifosi about injuries, this Atalanta team just goes out and fights – how can you not love them? A different day it could have been three points in the bag for La Dea, but let’s be happy and grateful with the result in front of us! As always, Forza Dea!!!
