With everything on the line to play for, Atalanta showed up to the Gewiss on Thursday night, and laid an egg. Simple as that. Regardless of the tactical setup and how Leipzig played, Atalanta did itself no favors and succumbed to poor execution and a lack of fundamentals. And as a result, Atalanta must now navigate and play a near flawless football during the spring calendar to have any hope of returning to the Europa League next year.
All in all a 2-0 victory for Leipzig seems fair. Through some sort of voodoo Atalanta managed to put three shots on target, but in reality one only sticks out in my mind. Toothless finishing and fundamentals inside the box played right into the hands of a Leipzig team that was all too content to let Atalanta dig its own grave. And to top it off Juan Musso step up and fills the hole with cement, while still being inside said hole six feet under.
Regardless of how Atalanta fizzled out in the waning minutes of its Europa League run, let’s still be proud of a team that has navigated problem after problem in 2022. I think its appropriate to be proud of the heart and hustle but disappointed with tonight’s execution, but sadly no awards are given out for the team that most ‘defies the odds.’ The Europa League run is over, and its back to the drawing board to figure out a new plan.
Atalanta Passione Match Ratings
Goalkeeper: 4 – There’s no middle ground with Juan Musso. Brilliant saves one match, and then disastrous brain farts the next. Atalanta may not have had much of a chance to claw a goal back, but Musso guaranteed that there would be no extra-time in Bergamo after conceding a foolish penalty.
Defense: 6.5 – Again Merih Demiral and Jose Luis Palomino did a pretty good job of containing Christopher Nkunku and Andre Silva. The counterattack again was Atalanta’s enemy but the duo was sound and composed in pretty much all of its one-on-one battles.
Wingbacks: 5 – Sadly Hans Hateboer and Davide Zappacosta continue to be offensive wastelands on the flanks. Whatever the opposite of the Midas Touch is, they certainly have had it in recent months.
Midfield: 5.5 – Contrary to last match, the de Roon, Koopmeiners, Freuler combination got punked tonight by Kevin Kampl and Konrad Laimer. With all the chess that goes on in midfield, Atalanta played like it had two bishops and a pawn, while Laimer charges forwards, gets promoted, and gives Leipzig’s midfield two queens.
Attack: 5 – No faulting Ruslan Malinovskyi and Jeremie Boga for their efforts, but there’s no quality in their final balls right now. Duvan Zapata didn’t do a whole lot to make himself a good target, but the service he received was equally poor, culminating in a negative synergistic effect.
Substitutes: 6 – No impact off the bench, and much of the same inefficient play that plagued the starters festered through to the guys that came on.
Atalanta Passione Man of the Match- The Curvas
No player deserved the award, so why not give it to the fans who were still electric the entire match. The Gewiss looked awesome on television, and it is still wonderful to see i Bergamaschi come out and support the club to the end.
Other Match Odds and Ends
Atalanta 1.36 xG – Leipzig 2.12 xG – The computers definitely got this one right, although it is shocking that Atalanta’s weak chances even amassed more than 1 goal on aggregate. The fact that Atalanta was able to let Konrad Laimer mosey into the box to dish off a fifty-fifty chance to Nkunku is still crazy.
Speaking of Atalanta’s chances, Hans Hateboer’s missed volley had an xG of 0.55 – he puts it on target and it likely goes in. Other than that Atalanta other best chance was Zapata’s botched header that hit his shoulder and somehow still registered a post-xG of 0.58 – really padding Gulasci’s stats there.
Atalanta’s closest chance to a goal was an excruciatingly long penalty check after Ruslan Malinovksyi’s vicious freekick clanked off Dani Olmo’s hand. I’m convinced the ref decided not to give the penalty because of the foul/yellow card he gave to Benjamin Heinrichs in the previous free kick. Its a shame that the referee was not treating both chances as independent events – but heck, at the end of the day if Atalanta needs to beg for penalties to score, the boys have other problems.
Today’s referee Antonio Mateu handed out ten yellow cards today, all in the second half. That feels like it has to be up there for some sort of record for yellow cards shown without a red card mixed in for good measure.
So now the final quarter of the season starts for Atalanta, and it has the most impact on what will happen next year for La Dea. European glory is out the window, as well as Champion’s League competition next year. With seven games left, six of them against clubs in the bottom half of the table – La Dea needs to get back to fundamentals and treat these games as auditions for starting places next year.
Weird things are brewing in Bergamo. I’m not sure what it is yet, but with the foul stench of 2022 and the Pagliuca/Pagliaccio scenario, who knows what the summer will bring. A lot of doubts and fears can be squelched, however, with a good showing the rest of the year. But a good performance today also could have squelched a lot of uncertainty. A date in the semifinals against Rangers and a potential final sans Barcelona could have had Atalanta licking its lips.
Yet, the performances haven’t been consistent enough, and now Atalanta is spent playing would’ve, could’ve, should’ve. Its a shame, but like the lunatics we are, we get back up to fight another day, it just may take a bit longer to recover from the damage of this defeat.
But we’ll be stronger for it in the end! As always, Forza Dea!!!
