In a match that highlighted with confusion, new personnel, and even hunkering down in defense, it was still a brilliant 45 seconds of Atalanta football that was enough for Gian Piero Gasperini and the boys to secure a 2-0 victory over Sampdoria in the season opener. Contrary to my naïve assumption that Sampdoria may struggle to do much of anything this year, let’s give credit to the league’s only Genovese side. Marco Giampaolo had his men prepped and ready to go. Two woodwork shots, a sketchy disallowed goal, and last ditch effort from Joakim Maehle could have made the scoreline much different.
But at the end of the day, Atalanta still did enough when it mattered, including a vintage goal capped off by Rafael Toloi. The goal, however, was really a tap-in that was the culmination of a well worked play in which five Atalanta players touched the ball before it snuck by Emil Audero. Marten de Roon > Joakim Maehle > Duvan Zapata > Mario Pasalic > Rafael Toloi (why was he there?) oozes 90 goal Atalanta side, and hopefully it was just a taste of what’s to come.
Unfortunately, La Dea wasn’t able to muster too much offense after its well worked goal, as it looked to absorb pressure for most of the rest of the evening. Abdelhamid Sabiri was able to control tempo in the midfield, complemented nicely by the hardworking Tomas Rincon. Additionally, Atalanta got a little to trigger happy with the longball and did little to put Alex Ferrari (who was on a yellow card) in any moments of problems.
Yet, in the end the chances for Sampdoria were just a little too difficult, requiring too much brilliance from their talismen (although Quags was close a few times); and the onslaught of pressure Sampdoria applied made its defense too frail, leaving room for debutant Ademola Lookman to put away the dagger and his first Serie A goal. He was even half a meter from a brace, that could have made stoppage time a bit less nerve-wracking. Nonetheless, the Nigerian came through with a veteran like presence to double Atalanta’s lead and give La Dea three important early points.
Atalanta Passione Match Ratings
Juan Musso: 6 – What he was doing rushing out like Manuel Neuer we’ll never know, but he did keep a clean sheet – with only one save
Rafael Toloi: 7 – His defense was good enough, but he did put the game winner away
Caleb Okoli: 6 – Caputo got the best of him at times, and a shaky touch almost put Atalanta behind early, but he was resolute when it mattered; a great learning experience match
Berat Djimsiti: 7 (Moustache: 10) – Steady Eddie as ever, his calmess on the ball helped an obviously nervous in possession Okoli
Hans Hateboer: 6.5 – Dare we say that vintage Hans is starting to surface? His engine and directness was the best it has been in years
Joakim Maehle: 6.5 – Yes he missed an absolute sitter, but he was quite effective offensively down the flank, but his acting was a bit better than his defense at times
Teun Koopmeiners: 6 – A quiet match for the man who will have to learn how to take over the match from the midfield
Marten de Roon: 6 – He looked a bit absent minded on defense at times, although his brilliant switch of play set up La Dea’s first goal
Mario Pasalic: 7 – Mr. Everywhere man, who performed admirably as the only attacking midfielder
Luis Muriel: 5 – Atalanta’s number 9 was lethargic and basically non-existent offensively
Duvan Zapata: 7 – The big Colombian has that spring in his step again, and looks to be a force to be reckoned with again (as long as he gets some support up front)
Ademola Lookman: 7 – He was half a meter away from a brace, but his pace on the break could be the missing counter attack weapon Atalanta has desperately needed
Giorgio Scalvini: 6.5 – A solid off the bench effort from the teenager, including a veteran time-wasting display, subsequently drawing a yellow on the true veteran Quagliarella
Nadir Zortea: 6 – A good debut showing from the youngster, who looked a bit too interested playing offense than defense at times
Ruslan Malinovskyi: 7 – He may be on the way out, but he still has a trick up his sleeve – cleanly setting up Lookman for Dea’s second goal
Atalanta Passione Man of the Match – Ademola Lookman
How can I not give it to the man scoring on his debut??? What’s even more exciting is his ability to play on the right, calmy shoot with his left foot, and essentially open up the playbook with where Gasperini can use him. Dea fans knew next to nothing about Lookman prior to Saturday, but its safe to say that we’ll have a versatile offensive option on our side!
Some Fun With Numbers
Fotmob xG: Sampdoria 0.97 – Atalanta 2.17 | This feels about right, given that Atalanta’s few chances were so clean cut. The chances Sampdoria had, even if they may have been woodwork shots, were still tight angled made to look so much closer due to the quality the guys shooting possessed.
Number of the day: 9 – The number of aerial duels that Duvan Zapata contested. This is far too many hoofs up to Zapata, reaching nubmers that shouldbe reserved for route 1 attacks of the promoted sides. Its certainly not Milan Duric territory, but Atalanta needs to let Zapata cook with his speed and footwork too.
Joakim Maehle’s missed shot had an xG of 0.83. Statistically this could be the worst miss of the year, but it is encouraging that both wingbacks are connecting on chances again.
Just like last year it is evident that La Dea still has some rust to shake off, which is understandable. The season has started early, and revving a fine-tuned machine that runs off more than energy than hustle can understandably be a bit slow out of the gate. Hopefully hope and pray to Duvan ball quiets down a bit, and we can see what this offense truly has in store. The new additions can be potential game changers, just give them the chance to show off their chops. They’ll certainly have to next week against Milan! Great win boys, and as always, Forza Dea!
