Perhaps much to the chagrin of Atalantini, this match ended up being the perfect showcase for Serie A. The Queens of the Provinces Derby lived up to its billing that saw a muted first half completely outdone by a thrilling second half. Unfortunately Atalanta was not able to hold onto its seemingly at the time comfortable 2-0 lead – permitting a furious Gerard Deulofeu led Udinese attack to claw its way back into the match and square it at two goals apiece.
It was a match of many firsts for Atalanta. Its first time conceding two goals, its first time blowing a two goal lead, and also Atalanta’s first time scoring more than two goals since the September 5th against Monza. What wasn’t a first was seeing Atalanta’s offense struggle and falter when trying to mount offensive rhythm whilst under extreme pressure. Once Luis Muriel and Ademola Lookman exited the match, Atalanta had zero answers offensively to try and rebalance the run of play that had turned overwhelmingly in Udinese’s favor. If Lookman and Muriel stay on the pitch, maybe its a different game, but the consistent lack of offensive positivity may be the running theme all year.
The defense has been great, but it is difficult to ask the unit to be on point so continuously without any outlet help. Especially now with Merih Demiral sandwiched between two youngsters in Caleb Okoli and Giorgio Scalvini, it becomes more paramount that games in which Atalanta is holding onto a lead doesn’t turn into heroic low blocking defending night in and night out.
But credit to Udinese. Le Zebre fought back and forced Atalanta to retreat into a shell and nearly came out victorious because of it. Given that Udinese was so lively in the second half, it helps to lessen the blow of dropping two points and came help work the match back into the framework that Atalanta earned a difficult point, against a very good team, in a venue that’s hard to escape with any sort of points. The run of play will have us keep asking ourselves what could have been all week, but at the end of the day let’s take a valuable point and continue chipping away at difficult schedule lying in front of us.
Atalanta Passione’s Match Ratings
Marco Sportiello: 6 – You wonder if he could’ve done more on Gerard Deulofeu’s wonder strike, but both of Udinese shots on targets turned into goals that he had little chance of ultimately stopping.
Caleb Okoli: 6.5 – He performed decently against Beto, and stood toe to toe against one of Serie A’s most aggressive forwards in Isaac Success. Sadly the ref decided Okoli’s shirt tug on Success that led to the Deulofeu goal was more egregious than a lot of the other things he let slide this match.
Merih Demiral: 6.5 – It started coming away from him at the end of the match. I’m not sure who should be at fault for failing to pick up Neuhen Perez in the box on Udinese’s second goal, but it feels like he should be the culprit.
Giorgio Scalvini: 7 – A strong game for the youngster, highlighted by stomping out a Deulofeu stepover marathon.
Hans Hateboer: 6.5 – A bit of a revitalization coming from the Dutchman. He may not be an offensive driving force anymore, but his defense is still very dependable.
Joakim Maehle: 6 – I counted three poor turnovers in his defensive half, fortunately none of them turned into dangerous chances.
Marten de Roon: 6.5 – Continued steady performance from the new captain. He still hasn’t missed a minute all year.
Teun Koopmeiners: 7 – That long ball! I would’ve liked to see him be a bit more assertive in the second half to help drive the offense when needed.
Mario Pasalic: 5.5 – The game moved far too fast for him, and he wasn’t up for it.
Ademola Lookman: 7 – Mr. Right Place at the Right Time for a nearly carbon copy goal like he scored against Fiorentina. Hopefully he doesn’t stop his celebrations after the bogus yellow card given to him.
Luis Muriel: 7.5 – He set up both goals, and I think its safe to say that he is officially heating up.
Ruslan Malinovskyi: 6 – He didn’t have the impact needed to help ice off the game.
Rasmus Hojlund: 6 – Like Malinovskyi, the striker pair of the second half left-footed duo was largely ineffective, although it really wasn’t his fault, as he got next to no service.
Ederson: n/a
Brandon Soppy: n/a
Matteo Ruggeri: n/a
Atalanta Passione Man of the Match – Luis Muriel
The Colombian is getting his swag back, and he was almost the only source of offense for Atalanta on Sunday. A picture perfect penalty was his reward for swiftly beating the teenager Destiny Udogie inside the box, putting him only one goal away from 100 career Serie A goals. The only disappointment was him not staying on the pitch to try and go for a brace. Muriel has now produced one goal and two assists in his past two games. He may not be on fire yet, but he’s definitely pouring the olive oil into the pot.
Other Match Odds and Ends
Udinese xG: 1.12 | Atalanta xG: 2.04 – Atalanta gets the boost from the penalty, so expected output from live ball situations has the match nearly even. That seems fair, even though most of Udinese’s danger came in the final quarter of the match.
This is Ademola Lookman’s second goal in as many weeks with an xG greater than 50%. I love seeing Atalanta live through creating one or two stone cold chances each match. The fact that Sunday’s goal was almost identical to the one they scored against Fiorentina demonstrates the wavelength Lookman and Muriel are on together.
I’ll stand by the stance that Muriel and Lookman should have stayed on, but if Gasperini wanted to make substitutions, there weren’t too many placed on the pitch he could have made them, besides attack. With the recent injury to Rafael Toloi, Gasperini’s bench has rapidly got thin. Atalanta is basically down to three centerbacks, and two defensive midfielders as a result of Scalvini having to play in defense. There weren’t too many substitutions he could have made to shore up the defense, which almost makes it feel like he made the offensive substitutions purely because he had the ability to make them. Substitutions for substitutions sake. Against Sassuolo, let’s permit Muriel and Lookman to play all game and see what they can really conjure up when the opposition starts to get either too tired or too adventurous going forward.
In Udinese’s last three matches, Andrea Sottil’s side has scored either an equalizer or game-winning match from a set-piece header from a defender. On one hand, having set piece height is an obvious strength of his back three setup, but Atalanta should have been much more prepared on that corner. It started off poorly right from the get-go with Deulofeu left unmarked at the top of the box, and from there everyone else was floundering around looking for a body to mark. Rasmus Hojlund shouldn’t have to be the one stepping up to mark Udinese’s most dangerous playmaker.
Unfortunately Napoli expectedly won against Cremonese, giving the Partenopei sole possession of first place after nine matches. Nonetheless, Atalanta can still be more than satisfied with second place at the quarter point of the season. Dea still haven’t lost, and have not even trailed this season, all while trying to sort out a new style and tactic with a fresh squad.
Matches that slip away from us in the waning minutes can still be frustrating, but looking back on this draw in a few months time, I imagine it feels more like a hard point earned rather than two points dropped. Udinese is legitimate this year, and there’s no shame walking into the Dacia and scraping out a point. Fiorentina couldn’t do it, Roma couldn’t do it, even Inter couldn’t do it. We’ll go get them next time, and hopefully when these two sides square off in March – they’re both still vying for Champion’s League spots. But until then, and until next week, Forza Dea!
