The math is easy now for Atalanta – a win and it books a trip to the semifinals. Easier said than done, but Atalanta put in a wonderful effort against the ever-dangerous RB Leipzig – pushing the match to a thrilling 1-1 draw. No one would have been surprised if this one ended 3-3. With both sides hitting the woodwork twice, Atalanta pummeling the inside of the box with shots, and Merih Demiral clearing his line like a boss, it is amazing that only two balls found the back of the net. But Atalanta will most definitely take the result. Gian Piero Gasperini put together a nice game plan that neutralized Leipzig’s dangerous attack, and simultaneously permitted his offense to mount attacks with aggression.
The importance of leaving Leipzig equal on goals cannot be understated. The firepower Leizpig possesses and has demonstrated lately, could have put an early nail in Atalanta’s coffin. But now the carpenter just left off at Home Depot without buying anything. Can’t consume that valuable warehouse space with material you may not even use- its anyone’s tie now! On top of that, it may be Atalanta’s most important home fixture, ever. Bergamo will be hopping in one week’s time.
Atalanta Passione’s Match Ratings
Goalkeeper: 8 – Juan Musso made up for his weekend blunders making a brilliant double save to deny Andre Silva and Willi Orban of a goal. Its irrelevant that Leizpig scored from an own-goal only minutes later, what a confidence boost that still was for the Argentine himself and his defense.
Defense: 7.5 – A sublime defensive performance from the pairing again. Jose Luis Palomino was a stud after his early yellow card, and Merih Demiral didn’t put a foot wrong besides his “weak” foul on Nkunku.
Midfield: 8 – Marten de Roon played a brilliant hybrid defensive midfielder/centerback. And look what happens when Teun Koopmeiners plays further back on the pitch – he finally looks like the Koopmeiners Atalantini have already grown to love. Sir Remo Freuler was steady as ever, but he may be in doubt next week, sadly.
Wingbacks: 6 – The pairing played well enough, but Hans Hateboer wasn’t able to make use of his size advantage on Angelino, and everyone knows about Zappacosta’s own-goal blunder.
Offense: 6.5 – Luis Muriel shines with a moment of brilliance, and Mario Pasalic played spirited – almost resulting in a goal purely from hustle. Matteo Pessina drags the rating down as a liability on both defense and offense.
Substitutes: 7 – Duvan is back! While he’s a bit rusty, his physical presence was sorely missed and opens everything up around him. Besides Duvan, Aleksei Miranchuk flashed well for a second straight match, and I’m running out of things to say about Giorgio Scalvini – he even looks the part in the midfield!
Atalanta Passione Man of the Match – Juan Musso
Again an incredibly difficult man of the match decision. Palomino, de Roon, Koopmeiners, and Muriel all deserve shouts, but Juan Musso’s acrobatics helped to briefly keep the match in Atalanta’s favor – if only for a bit. Lest we forget, prior to Demiral’s goal-line clearance, Musso also made an important stop on a crazy deflection of Emil Forsberg’s rebound. Just have to work on that distribution, but the shot stopping was primo tonight.
Other Match Odds and Ends
FotMob’s xGoal- Leipzig 2.81: – Atalanta: 2.25 – This feels fair given Leipzig’s penalty. 34 total shots yielding only one intended goal; however, is remarkable. Atalanta took one more shot in this match than it did against Napoli, but the chances felt so much better and dangerous. As such, the chances gave Atalanta an additional 0.5 xG than Sunday’s match.
Juan Musso double save in the second half was a thing of beauty. First his penalty save on Silva had a 99% chance of going in, immediately followed up by his save on Willi Orban which had a 45% of going in. Essentially he stopped 1.5 goals in the span of 30 seconds. Beast mode right there.
It almost feels like Palomino always needs to play with a caution just to reel him in a bit. After his early yellow card after his foul on Christopher Nkunku, he played a much more poised and calm game.
Look what happens when Teun Koopmeiners plays further back! He looked so much more confident in his normal role, and the numbers back it up. Progressive passing distance is not up on fbref.com, but Koopmeiners set up three teammates for shots, totaling 0.5 xG. Additionally his late runs into the box to get on the end of a ball being worked around the box only happen when he can charge forward from deeper. Atalanta may have to employ him further back out of necessity because….
Remo Freuler has only missed one game in his Atalanta career due to injury. He is an iron man! But when he pulled up gingerly after a long sprint, his streak may now have come to an end. Let’s hope he’s fine, but hamstring injuries never seem to be ones that a player can run off.
FiveThirtyEight barely gave Atalanta a chance going into the leg – with Leipzig a 60% chance of advancing. Now the tables have turned, and its essentially a 50-50 wash as to who will advance. No away goal rule is now a huge positive for Atalanta. If the boys are tied after 90 minutes, regardless of away goals, Atalanta gets thirty extra minutes in front of its home fans to finish the task.
Today has to be a huge confidence boost for everyone. The offense looked confident, and the defense demonstrated that it can go nose to nose with Leipzig’s array of attacking options. Next week will be a banger! Let’s rest up, not do anything stupid against Sassuolo this weekend, and keep this marvelous run alive! As always, Forza Dea!!!
