Date: March 17, 2022
Time: 18:45 CET, 13:45 EST
The boys travel to Germany this week in Atalanta’s continuing quest to only play well on weekdays while advancing to the coveted quarterfinals of the Europa League. A thorough 3-2 victory last week at the Gewiss made La Dea’s task a bit easier, but when two teams at the extreme end of unpredictability are thrown onto a pitch together – it makes how can you expect normalcy? Add to that the gut wrenching season ending ACL injury for Leverkusen’s best player in Florian Wirtz – alongside Jeremie Frimpong’s season ending injury – and the uncertainty continues to get added to the equation. Undoubtedly Leverkusen are a worse team when Wirtz is not on the pitch, but in winner take all games in which only one or two splash plays override the boring law of averages that come from missing a stud player, Atalanta may have to be on even higher alert.
Where will Leverkusen’s attack come from? Patrick Schick is still questionable to start. Moussa Diaby can be guaranteed to be a focal point of the offense. But will Atalanta now have to queue in on multiple attackers rather than just focus on Diaby and Wirtz like last Thursday? Amine Adli is likely to replace Wirtz, but combine potential attacks coming from him, Diaby, or even further back in midfield with Demirbay – Atalanta may not be able to sellout to stop one or two players. And Leverkusen has to and will attack. Not saying that Leverkusen’s attack will be stronger without Wirtz, Atalanta may just have to put in a more comprehensive defensive performance due to less predictability on where offense will initialize for the Pillers.
Bayer Leverkusen Player to Watch- Moussa Diaby
One place that offense will most definitely come from is the left wing. Moussa Diaby snuck through Atalanta’s backline to claw back an important goal for Leverkusen last time around, and he is certainly capable of doing it again this Thursday. The former Paris Saint-German youth prospect (who interestingly spent a hot minute in Crotone a few years back) has broken out this year with twelve goals in league play and another four in the Europa League.
His pacey and slippery movements make it extremely difficult to still stop the most obvious lefty dribble move of all time (cut in from the right), and hopefully having Jose Luis Palomino on the pitch can help to stymie a couple of those likely cut-ins. Fortunately for Atalanta, Frimpong’s absence on the right hand side gives La Dea’s defense one less attacking threat to worry about on that flank, so here’s to hoping that a Palomino and Zappacosta combination can band together and force Leverkusen to look elsewhere for its offense contribution.
Atalanta Passione’s Predicted Starting XI
Atalanta should change little from a template that worked well last Thursday. Without a Matteo Pessina experiment to worry about, Atalanta can get back to business with its legit double pivot and leaving Teun Koopmeiners to galivant in a free role.
Otherwise, the ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it mantra’ rings true. Jose Palomino being the only change to help shore up the defense on the left side. An argument can be made that Joakim Maehle should be inserted over Davide Zappacosta – given Zappacosta’s recent difficulties with his final ball. But the question can be posed, does Maehle even create the breakaways that Zappacosta does? A valid point, and the cop-out answer is yes and no, but I’m putting my money on Zappacosta connecting eventually following all the good work he does to get into the final third.
Up front the Luis Muriel and Ruslan Malinovskyi combination was lethal last match, but then followed up a stinker against Genoa. Do the attackers right the wrongs from over the weekend? There should be acres of space left open by Leverkusen, thus more chances for the duo to create off of one another. Regardless of the inconsistencies has to be the starting attack – because what’s a better option right now?!? Until Jeremie Boga shows something more and/or Duvan Zapata makes his miraculous return to the lineup, we live or die with the 9-18.
Three Small Keys to Advancing to the Quarterfinals
Mind the Bouncing Long Ball- Berat Djimsiti got beat on it, and it nearly caused Atalanta a few more moments of difficulty. Without Wirtz to pull string it may become an even more often utilized tactic from Gerardo Seoane. Perhaps more important than winning the initial aerial is ensuring that a streaking midfielder is not scurrying forward to pick up the loose ball. Fortunately Marten de Roon and Remo Freuler can sniff these out in their sleep.
Continue to Test Leverkusen’s Backline- Atalanta had a good day at the office pressuring Edmond Tapsoba and Jonathan Tah. However, Leverkusen is deep at centerback, and Seoane may opt to go with late replacement Odilon Kossonou or Piero Hincapie. Or may Leverkusen lines up in a back three. Regardless of the formation – Atalanta has to continue to put pressure on Leverkusen’s defenders to make plays. It is likely where Leverkusen is most vulnerable, and may be even more so if the Germans have to march more men forward to look for an equalizer.
Don’t Play for a Draw- I personally feel its a horrible setup mentally to play for a score other than victory. Unless you are an elite drilled defensive squad like Atletico, there’s too much risk riding on a perfect defensive display. Especially if you are Atalanta. Atalanta may have had this tactic work in the past, although it was likely an exception to the rule. With Leverkusen’s Atalanta-like ability to put up goals in a hurry, don’t leave it to your defense to carry the brunt of the weight – let the offense contribute and help to put the game out of reach.
A victory or draw on Thursday and Atalanta punches its ticket to the quarterfinals. And what credit to the boys if they are able to pull it off. It has felt like eternal turmoil since 2022, but somehow Atalanta is still only five matches away from contesting the biggest match in the club’s life. Let’s not get too far ahead, because there’s still plenty of work to do, but if a solid game plan is personified on the field Thursday – Atalanta is one step closer. Who ever said Thursday night football can’t be fun – let’s go do it! As always, Forza Dea!!!
