Where do we start? Rather a better question is should we even start, because the squad really didn’t today? Atalanta was again run off the field at home, this time against a Hellas Verona team that bossed Atalanta all over the pitch; up front, at the back, in the middle, it didn’t really matter. Frankly La Dea is lucky that the deficit wasn’t greater, and the fact that the boys were still a lucky bounce away from earning bounce is a stroke of fortune.
Regardless, it wasn’t meant to be for our Dea, and Atalanta now have lost in the league 2-1 for the second consecutive match, and have now lost four matches in five since the last international break. Atalanta have now played five games in just a little more than three weeks, and it is quite likely that fatigue has burned down the barn door and taken the squad hostage. Today the squad seemed lethargic, uninterested in pressing in defense, and even more uninterested in trying to put forth an offensive plan beyond hoofing it up to Duvan Zapata. I wrote in the match preview that a reckoning may be coming, and today’s performance may have even convinced me – normally an individual (I’d like to think) that is not too quick to jump to irrational conclusions.
But anyone who watched today’s game would wholeheartedly agree that the team is missing something. After Ruslan Malinovskyi left the match, there wasn’t an offensive plan, and it trickled back to the defense who was floundering around desperately to fend off a very potent Verona attack. Now five points behind 7th place and an increasingly elusive Conference League spot next year, Atalanta needs to figure out a short term plan just to make it to the summer where it can hash out a legitimate long term plan.
Atalanta Passione Match Ratings
Goalkeeper: 6.5 – Juan Musso made a couple of decent saves to help make the score look closer than the match actually was. He still gets lazy and lethargic in his kick outs; it almost cost him.
Defense: 5.5 – The defense has been stellar all year, so it was pretty easy to call today out as the unit’s worse performance. Minimal closing down of attackers and poor positioning is only salvaged by Giorgio Scalvini’s first goal in black and blue.
Midfield: 4.5 – The Dutch duo looked shell-shocked, a shell of what we normally expect from Marten de Roon and Teun Koopmeiners. Poor passing and missing intensity made it very easy for Verona’s defense to link up with its attack.
Wingbacks: 5 – The crossing experiment finally hit today, with Davide Zappacosta assisting Giorgio Scalvini, but there were far too many unsuccessful crosses to deem the strategy valid.
Attack: 5.5 – Ruslan Malinovskyi was lively until his untimely injury, Jeremie Boga put some insane dribbling on display, and Duvan Zapata singlehandedly forces Verona to sub off its best defender for fear of a red card. However, none of it amounted to anything. The individual performances were fine, but didn’t sum nicely into a clean package.
Substitutes: 5.5 – Nothing of note from the substitutes, as they fell right into play performing the same way as their starting counterparts.
Atalanta Passione Man of the Match- Giorgio Scalvini
This may not have been Scalvini’s best match defensively, but after being so close on so many opportunities, he finally put away a header for his first Serie A goal. He may still be learning a lot as a teenager, but he already knows the importance of getting forward in Gasperini’s system.
Other Match Odds and Ends
Atalanta xG: 1.31 – Hellas Verona xG: 3.04 – This is by far the most Atalanta has been dominated from an expected goals standpoint since I began inserting this into the match reviews. And it makes sense. Verona hit the post three times, and the own-goal scored by Koopmeiners didn’t even add into this calculation.
Oftentimes Atalanta suffers mightily from not getting shots off inside the box. Today was a bit different, with 14 of the squad’s 17 shots being registered inside the box. However, it wasn’t to be. Whether it was poor finishing, good goalkeeping, or good defensive positioning. The shots didn’t equate to good chances.
Perhaps on a bright note, Jeremie Boga’s dribbling was insane today. He completed 7 dribbles, out of 10 attempts, and was inches away from pulling off Atalanta’s goal of the year. The story is still the same with the Ivorian. The end product, whether a good pass or a well-placed shot, is not there. Hopefully it comes soon, because Atalanta needs an offensive strategy beyond longball to Zapata.
Atalanta has reached a point where it really feels like spots are up for grabs next year. Besides a select few players, no one’s job feels safe, and no one’s job should really feel safe. As easy as it is to cry injuries, fatigue, and everything else – while they’re all valid points, they don’t excuse a run of form that puts Atalanta in the bottom echelon of the league.
For a team that wants to continuously fight for Champion’s League spots, a season as this will happen once and a while, and there’s plenty of other good teams in Serie A where there’s no shame of missing out on the top 4. But just the way Atalanta have gone about it this year is concerning. Gian Piero Gasperini even said post match, ‘we have to make a change.’ I’m curious to what that change will be, and let’s at least hope it involves effort and heart from the boys. There’s still European football to play for next year, so hopefully some much needed rest will allow everyone to rest and come back recharged next week. As always, Forza Dea!!!
