Thursday night’s match in Bergamo had nearly everything – but most importantly it leads to a decisive advantage for Atalanta heading into the second leg of its Round of 16 draw. A back and forth 3-2 victory saw Atalanta be utterly dominant at times, but still falling on its sword of over-aggression. There will rightfully be rumblings on Moussa Diaby’s second goal for Bayer Leverkusen, both from a questionable no-call and Berat Djimsiti’s poor defending. However, there are still too many positives to dwell on five seconds of absentmindedness, because Atalanta most definitely demonstrated it has the available firepower to finish off the draw against one of Europe’s best attacks.
Proceedings looked iffy at the beginning. Leverkusen had a smooth offensive attack, and the best way to describe Atalanta’s defense was like they were transported to a dream and they were moving through thick air to make meaningful defensive plays. Credit to Leverkusen, they can really tiki-taka the ball around the box when they have the flow going. But everything changed around the twenty minute marker. Atalanta figured out the basketball-like give-and-gos Leverkusen was working, and it translated into some scintillating offense. Luis Muriel and Ruslan Malinovskyi broke out something fierce, netting three consecutive goals for La Dea.
It seemed over after the third goal, but good teams know how to make adjustments. After Hradecky’s tie saving stop to prevent a Muriel hattrick, manager Gerardo Seoane opted for more defense at the back. Jonathan Tah was getting beat up all match, and a three at the back look gave Leverkusen a fortified bend-don’t-break defense. Given the luck involved in Diaby’s goal, Seoane’s defense first move paid off twofold – decisively keeping the clsah at a one goal advantage for Atalanta. Regardless Atalanta should still be confident heading into next Thursday regardless of how Leverkusen lines up. Atalanta was still able to make noise with Leverkusen’s formation change. And even if Big Pharma decides to open the floodgates in an offensive onslaught, even more space will be open against what seems to be the only defense that can compete with Atalanta in terms of momentary lapses of concentration. A great win, but there’s still work to be done next week!
A Review of the Three Small Keys
Always Be Moving (with a twist)- Atalanta’s movement was excellent, and at times there was acres of space for the boys to work through. Davide Zappacosta was particularly lively on the left hand side. While his final product was not good, he was electric moving forward. Good things also happen when Hans Hateboer decides to cut into the middle – and it would be great to see him do it more and continue to force Leverkusen into a state of confusion.
Win the Set Piece Battle- Charles Aranguiz almost put Leverkusen up early with a sterling free kick, but set pieces did not have a huge impact on the match. It was a clean match, with very few opportunities to make good on dangerous set piece chances.
Clog the Middle of the Pitch Defensively- Florian Wirtz barely had a touch after the tenth minute, and Atalanta’s midfield trio definitely won the middle of the pitch. After awhile Leverkusen’s only offense was hoofball, although it was ultimately effective. That should be an easy fix for Atalanta to shore up next week, as long as the boys continue to say vigilant for the Leverkusen bread and butter of either a give-and-go or a back pass leading to a release on the flank.
Atalanta Passione Match Ratings
Goalkeeper: 6 – Juan Musso had very little to do, and didn’t have much chance of saving either of the shots he faced on target.
Defense: 7 – Berat Djimsiti was clumsy all match, and Atalanta looked much stronger when Palomino came into the game. Merih Demiral gave Lucas Alario fits all match, and Rafael Toloi’s aggressive pressing was the catalyst for Atalanta’s second goal.
Wingbacks: 7 – Hans Hateboer and Mitchel Bakker were going at it all match, with the thoroughbred coming out ahead in the clash. As mentioned above, Zappacosta didn’t just run circles around Frimpong, but flat out ran straight by him. Just need him to work on that final decision.
Midfield: 7 – Remo Freuler and Marten de Roon were in prime form, and Teun Koopmeiners continued to his stellar form further up the pitch.
Attack: 8 – At the end of the day it was the Ruslan Malinovskyi and Luis Muriel show. Each with three goal contributions, they brought Atalantini back in time to the days of scoring for fun when they were backheeling their way to five goal victories over Bologna. If this is the start of Muriel’s coming out party, watch out!
Substitutes: 6.5 – Aleksei Miranchuk and Joakim Maehle were quiet, but Jose Luis Palomino shored up the defense nicely upon his insertion. But Jeremie Boga, that boy can dribble and his balance is unreal! I still wish he took on Leverkusen’s defense on his sprint up the field instead of dishing off to Muriel. He had the momentum to make someone look silly on that run of play.
Atalanta Passione Man of the Match – Luis Muriel
With two brilliantly taken goals, and a clever assist, there was no question this match’s award was going to the Colombian. While he was shoelaces away from a hattrick, it was his work off the ball that further cements him as the star of the game. He actually contributed in hold-up and link-up play, with a noteworthy flick-on header that released Zappacosta forward. Additionally his speed and strength to hold of Tah on numerous occasions is encouraging. Perhaps he just needed some time to adjust to the role normally reserved for his bulkier compatriot, and maybe he does have a bit of hope as some sort of hybrid target man/natural finisher?
Only half of the job is complete, but with a decisive goal advantage going into next week’s draw in Germany – Atalanta has to be feeling good. This time the goals were decisive. No relying on corner kicks, or free kicks, the offense witnessed on Thursday night was Atalanta football of old. Maybe it just took a team that doesn’t like playing defense to unleash it? Regardless of the reason why it unsurfaced, let’s all just be glad that the offensive prowess we have grown to know and love has not fully disappeared. Because with the way Leverkusen can turn the screws and score – Atalanta will have to bag a few in a week’s time to advance to the quarterfinals. Great victory, and as always Forza Dea!!!
