Atalanta’s forgettable 2022 trudges on, as La Dea finally lose on the road for the first time this season in Serie A. After being outhustled and outmuscled by Vincenzo Italiano’s Fiorentina side, Sunday’s performance did little to inspire confidence that Atalanta was potentially turning the corner. It is rare that Atalanta gets beat due to lack of intensity. But for every ounce of sweat Atalanta laid out onto the pitch, Fiorentina seemed to just have one gram more to give.
Even with the lack of industry in the match, Atalanta still had a chance to sneak away with points. The boys even leveled the score line for several seconds, until one of the season’s most controversial officiating decisions ruled Ruslan Malinovskyi’s equalizer offsides. As egregious as the goal reversal may have been, the play on the field does not justify that Atalanta were robbed off points because of the officiating decision. Sunday’s result leaves a lot of unanswered questions for Gian Piero Gasperini and staff to answer. Injuries, depth, and tepid offensive displays have Atalanta scrambling to stay relevant in the Champion’s League race. Now with Fiorentina only two points behind La Dea, a spot in Europa League is not a guarantee.
Three Small Keys to Three Big Points Review
Composure Inside the Defensive Box- If there was a bright spot in the match it was Atalanta’s effectiveness in minimizing chances for Fiorentina. Besides the goal that came off a counter (surprise!), and Sottil’s shot that came off a Juan Musso error, La Viola did not have too many clear cut chances. Unfortunately, Atalanta couldn’t turn its defensive solidity into a meaningful attack.
Be Direct Against Milenkovic- Life was too easy for Nikola Milenkovic and Igor on Sunday. The few chances that Jeremie Boga had an opportunity to create were squandered quickly. The hesitation dribble was Boga’s go-to method of attacking, and it paid minimal dividends in working the ball into the box or creating dangerous overlaps with Davide Zappacosta.
Get Creative with the Longballs- Not until the second half did Atalanta even try to dink balls over the top to try and bypass Italiano’s heavy press. Several times attackers were able to get into some interesting positions in the corner, but little came from these opportunities. Shamefully it took Atalanta 50 minutes to try something different in its attack, stubbornly choosing to continually play one two with a squad that clearly didn’t have the technical acumen to do so.
Atalanta Passione’s Match Ratings
Goalkeeper: 6.5- Musso made a wonderful save on a Riccardo Sottil curler. However, it was set up by his disastrous goal kick – essentially offsetting his acrobatic stretch. Maybe he could have done better on Piatek’s goal, but it was a point blank finish for the Pole.
Centerbacks: 6- Rafael Toloi and Berat Djimsiti were a step slow in the press, but tightened up well enough when they had to inside the box. Merih Demiral again stood out from the back three, giving Piatek little space to work.
Fullbacks: 5.5- Davide Zappacosta continues to get too long a leach on the left, with neither he nor Hans Hateboer exploiting either their speed or height advantages over their opposition counterparts.
Midfield: 5- One of the worst matches in recent memory from all three midfielders. They were overrun in the middle, and lacked crispness in their offensive actions to link up with the attack. I struggle to remember a time when Marten de Roon’s name was even called.
Attack: 5.5- Ruslan Malinovskyi continually gives max effort, and he took a nice goal that we all know too much about now. Boga was quiet and needs more assertiveness to demand the ball and make plays when tactics start to go haywire.
Substitutes: 6- None of the substitutes did anything noteworthy (save Pezzella’s fancy assist), and it was more business as usual when all of them came on the pitch.
Atalanta Passione Man of the Match- Merih Demiral
By process of elimination Demiral takes this one home. Demiral cleanly won the aerial duel against Piatek, and the only time Piatek got free was when Rafael Toloi was marking him. The Turk’s ascension as the leader of the backline has been remarkable, but when it comes to opposition’s pace the onus falls on him too frequently. Jose Palomino’s return should help to fix some of these issues, but until them let’s hope Demiral continues his stellar form.
Atalanta hasn’t scored more than one goal in its last five Serie A matches. As the offense continues to hobble along, now without a striker, something has to be done to turn the tides. Atalanta is dangerously close to losing control of its current situation, and without a reliable scorer to change the club’s fortune – offensive creativity has to come from elsewhere. The Teun Koopmeiners and Jeremie Boga connection still may be the best bet, but someone has to become an assertive offensive leader. Malinovskyi is too inconsistent right now, Mario Pasalic is a glue guy, and Jeremie Boga hasn’t demonstrated the demeanor to take the team on its back ala Josip Ilicic, Papu Gomez, or Duvan Zapata. Hopefully the boys figure out something quick, because set piece magic can only bail out a club for so long. We’ll keep on fighting, and as always Forza Dea!!!
