There were a lot of firsts today, and none of them were particularly flattering for the defenses on display. Instead, the word defense should be used lightly. But in the end, Atalanta was able to overcome its defensive woes and eke out an all-important point. With the positioning for the final European slots closer than ever, every point now is vital. Especially when you’re able to squeak back into the game, when earning any points seemed like a futile exercise.
But that’s exactly what Atalanta had to do today.
A tired squad looked dead in the water. Both first choice captains made horrific errors to give Torino a two-goal advantage, and there looked to be little hope for Atalanta to earn a result against a Torino side that hadn’t conceded more than two goals all year. Luis Muriel; however, had other plans. His brilliant link-up with substitute Mario Pasalic was the catalyst for Atalanta’s come back, only to be deftly followed up by striker extraordinaire Merih Demiral earning a penalty, after his shot found the hand of David Zima. Muriel again coolly put the penalty away, and Atalanta completed the escape act.
But Atalanta had no business clawing back into this match. With weak-links in both attack (Matteo Pessina) and defense (Berat Djimsiti), the squad’s engine was put into overdrive just to make up for the failures of the aforementioned. Everyone can have a poor game, in Djimsiti’s case, but Matteo Pessina’s poor run of form has gone on for months now. Once he was substituted off it was amazing how the offense just flipped a switch and immediately looked dangerous. It just goes to show how a weak link can derail the whole system. Fortunately, Atalanta still had enough quality in the side to steer the tides at the final moment and take advantage of Torino’s shaky endgame defense. A draw seems fair, but who’d have ever thought it would have been a four-four draw. Let’s take the point, get out of dodge, and try to do good on the easier schedule going into the final tenth of the year.
Atalanta Passione’s Match Ratings
Goalkeeper: 6 – Even though Juan Musso let four goals go by him, none of them were really his fault.
Defense: 5 – Berat Djimsiti was responsible for Torino’s first two goals, and Rafael Toloi made a clumsy challenge on the second of Torino’s penalties (even though Pobega was ONLY interested in drawing a foul). Jose Luis Palomino and Giorgio Scalvini’s good play gets overshadowed by the frailties of their counterparts at the back.
Midfield: 6 – Marten de Roon had himself a brilliant finish, and so did Remo Freuler. The problem was Freuler’s went top corner of his own net. The duo did well against a strong Samuele Ricci and Sasa Lukic pairing – but the foul stench from Freuler’s own goal is too pungent.
Wingbacks: 6.5 – Davide Zappacosta contributes again drawing a penalty for Atalanta’s first goal, and Hans Hateboer was only inches away from his first goal of the year (a brilliant finish it was though!). The pairing put in a good shift effort, especially Zappacosta this match, but Hateboer’s touch continues to be unreliable – making it doubly worse when he is paired with….
Attack: 7 – Matteo Pessina can’t even bring down the attack’s average thanks to Luis Muriel’s brilliant game. The Colombian contributed on all four goals, and now has a goal contribution in Atalanta last six goals. Duvan Zapata did a nice job with his dirty work against Bremer – essentially taking him out of the match and permitting Muriel to cook. But boy was Pessina just a black hole on the right side of the pitch.
Substitutes: 7 – Toloi’s penalty aside, the men that came on completely changed the game. It’s a shame they just didn’t come on sooner. Merih Demiral shored up the back, and Mario Pasalic comes through again with another perfectly timed run for his goal. There isn’t a more offensively instinctual player on Atalanta than Pasalic.
Atalanta Passione’s Man of the Match – Luis Muriel
Muriel may have gotten a bit lucky with his first attempt from the penalty stripe, but he had ice in his veins to ensure that Vanja Milinkovic-Savic had no chance to stop the second one. With Bremer and Zapata occupying each other all match, Muriel took full advantage of going up against a shaky youngster in David Zima, making the left side of the pitch his own. With eight goals on the year now, it’s a shame it’s a little too late for him to take advantage of his furious form for a good ten game stretch. But we’ll take whatever we can get.
Other Match Odds and Ends
Atalanta xG: 2.82 – Torino xG: 2.29: With so many soft fouls and penalties it makes it harder to judge if this tally feels justified. Regardless the two penalties for each side cancel each-other out, and I think its fair to say that Atalanta was a smidge better, but dragged down by colossal brain farts.
While Mario Pasalic’s goal looked like a clear breakaway, it was anything but an easy chance for the Croatian. However, with his excellent weak-foot finishing he was able to turn a 27% chance of scoring into an 80% opportunity. Perfect placement with the left foot.
Torino is known for having one of the stingiest defenses in the league, and that obviously all went out the window today. To put into perspective how out of the norm this match was, the four goals Atalanta scored today accounts for 11% of all the goals Torino has conceded this year.
For all of Atalanta’s scoring woes, the last two matches has really brought them back up into the upper echelons of the league. Out of nowhere La Dea is now tied for 3rd in goals scored in the league with 61. Only Inter and Lazio have outscored Gasperini’s men this year.
No more playing the game in hand card for Atalanta. While it would’ve been nice to earn three points, and slot above Fiorentina and Lazio in the table, one point is still vital – especially given what transpired in the second half of Wednesday’s match. With the tiebreakers, two points behind Fiorentina and Lazio and four points behind Roma is a good but not great place to be. The schedule gets a bit easier now, but sometimes that means squat for this Atalanta side. Hopefully Wednesday’s turnaround can be the spark needed to finish off the season’s final four games – and then we rest. At time Atalanta looks like a team that has played six more matches in 2022 than most of its opponents, and I wouldn’t doubt that fatigue (both physical and mental) is creeping into the squad a bit. Exciting finishes like this can hopefully keep the adrenaline pumping a bit longer and towards one final ascent up the table! As always, Forza Dea!!!
