Atalanta Escape Rome to Remain at the Top of the Table

Four matches on the road, four clean sheets. Sunday was no different in Rome as Gian Piero Gasperini and his cardiac kids were able to stave off a furious Roma second half assault to earn a vital three points. Everyone knows Atalanta’s defensive record has been remarkable this year, and it remains so after Sunday. However, defensive proceedings in Rome were much more about survival rather than killing the opposition offense through frustration.

None of Roma’s 21 shots were able to find the back of the net, and a match xG favoring Roma by the expected score of 2.22 to 0.18 suggests that Atalanta should count its blessings. And perhaps the squad should. If this match was replayed 100 times, with each team employing the same style, Atalanta wins maybe three or four times. Regardless, Atalanta was clinical when it mattered, and doesn’t have to look back and bow down to what should have happened. The three points are Atalanta’s and Gasperini can continue to tinker with what didn’t work on Sunday to prepare for the fury of dangerous matches coming after the international break.

Atalanta Passsione Match Ratings

Juan Musso: n/a – Unfortunately Musso had to come off early with a head injury, which should’ve been a bad omen that Marco Sportiello fortunately put the kibosh on.

Merih Demiral: 7 – He spearheaded a clean sheet, but it was done in an unencouraging way. Abraham and Zaniolo’s speed was challenging at times for the Turk, but he persevered.

Rafael Toloi: 7 – Just like Demiral, the method of defense was survival at the end of the day, and he did just that.

Hans Hateboer: 7 – His game saving clearance right at the end of the match helped to ice the match for Dea.

Joakim Maehle: 6.5 – He had less to do defensively, but he was a good link up partner with Teun Koopmeiners to recycle possession in the first half.

Giorgio Scalvini: 7.25 – A brilliant goal for the teenager was coupled with good defense that could have been used in the second half.

Marten de Roon: 7 – The Dutchman did just enough, notice a trend here, to keep Lorenzo Pelligrini from orchestrating dangerous chances from the middle of the pitch.

Teun Koopmeiners: 7 – A great first half was the highlight of his overall strong match. He came through when Atalanta was mounting its ‘attacks.’

Mario Pasalic: 6.5 – It probably wasn’t the best formation for Super Mario to contribute. He didn’t have the speed to mount counters, and his pressing and defense was only good enough. I feel Ademola Lookman could have offered more up front.

Ederson: 7 – It was his mission to bait Gianluca Mancini into a yellow card. He was close several times, but the referee didn’t comply. Great hustle to add to the overall defensive scheme.

Rasmus Hojlund: 7 – For as much as Matteo Bonetti waxed poetically about Chris Smalling taking the Dane to school on pretty easy 1 v. 1 balls for a centerback to win, Hojlund came through with the one play when it mattered most. He hasn’t really gotten too many opportunities to uncork shots, but the great work he did to set up the first goal was equally brilliant to creating a shooting chance from nothing.

Marco Sportiello: 7 – Atalanta doesn’t win this match without two key Sportiello saves. The backup did nicely when he was ready for a leisurely Sunday. It probably benefitted him to come in very early in the match while it was still revving up.

Luis Muriel: 6.5 – The few times that Atalanta was able to gain possession in the second half, Lucho did well to ease the Roma pressure.

Caleb Okoli: 7 – He had the unforgivable task of going up against Nicolo Zaniolo, who possesses the triple threat: speed, strength, and sliding. Zaniolo’s penchant to frequently go to ground can often making marking him doubly difficult, purely because of the leniency referees give to attackers with body to body action with defenders. Okoli didn’t shy away from sticking it to Zaniolo and was a key asset to holding off Roma in the second half.

Ademola Lookman: n/a

Ruslan Malinovskyi: n/a

Atalanta Passione Man of the Match – Giorgio Scalvini

Atalanta continues its run of scoring goals from the outside of the box, and today it was Scalvini’s turn to get in on the fun. He helped put some questions to bed about his utility as a midfielder, and he was effective at clogging the middle of the pitch during his 45 minutes on the field. I struggle to understand why he didn’t stay on the for the second half, especially if Atalanta’s intent was to go ultra defensive. His midfield press could have slowed down Roma’s attacks just for a bit. No harm no foul – he still came through with a brilliant goal.

Other Match Odds and Ends

As mentioned above, the xG battle was embarrassingly in Roma’s favor, but it made me question just what Roma has in attack to mount such dangerous comebacks. When Atalanta was trying to get one goal back against Cremonese last week, the offensive was tepid at best, nothing like the high octane destroyer offense that Roma put on today. I fail to recognize what Atalanta doesn’t have to prevent peppering the box with good opportunities in desperate situations. Roma certainly has quality players that make it easy for them to do, but Atalanta’s attack is no slouch either. Atalanta will need to mount last fifteen minute attacks several more times this year in matches they should win. I certainly hope a game plan is put in place to help permit the offensive players to thrive when push comes to shove.

Atalanta’s assault from outside the box continues. Scalvini’s perfectly placed shot was a moment of beauty, but that is now four of Atalanta’s eight (excluding own goals) goals that are now from outside the box. In fairness to the goal, it all started with a dangerous attack setup inside the penalty area, but Atalanta needs to figure out how to create offense that doesn’t default to long shots.

Marten de Roon jokingly called this match Park the Bus 2022 edition. As humorous as it is in the moment, it highlights what Atalanta has to do to ensure that matches don’t become this lopsided against Scudetto hopefuls going forward. There’s no way Atalanta can play like this consistently against the league’s top offenses. A good defensive plan sure, but permitting so many dangerous changes suggests that the match got away from the squad a bit. Roma’s finishing helped Atalanta at the end, but the squad cannot afford to be so porous defensively going forward.

I don’t want to end on a bad note! Atalanta is still first in the league, tied with Napoli, and put together it’s best start to a season, well, ever! That’s a serious accomplishment for a team that hasn’t fully discovered its identity yet. If the squad does find it, then look out – it should be a fun season. But until that point, let’s hope Gasperini keeps finding ways to making incrmiental improvements and find out how to best use his new guys.

Hojlund’s role today was perfect. He showed his versatility, and looks to be blossoming into Atalanta’s starter (as long as Zapata is out). Okoli’s role also suited his skills well. It wasn’t as evident as Rasmus’s but Okoli can be the perfect spy for some of the league’s most dangerous attackers. Let’s still figure out how to best use Lookman, Scalvini, and maybe Soppy – then I think we’ll be cooking. Let’s take a nice deserved break, and come back ready to kick it in October! Until then, Forza Dea!

Nick