Date: July 11, 2020
Time: 15:45 EST
May we, perhaps maybe, have a Scudetto race on our hands? As Lazio and Inter continue to drop winnable points, Atalanta has leapfrogged into the conversation of potentially dethroning Juventus. While it is a complete outside shot, a win Saturday will give La Dea a puncher’s chance to at least make Juve nervous (as long as Atalanta can keep up their furious form). Going on 9 straight victories in Serie A, no team is hotter right now than the Men from Bergamo (although certain CBS pundits may beg to differ!), and with Juventus coming off a crushing loss at the hands of AC Milan, perhaps there is a little tremor in the Serie A standings waiting for us after Saturday.
It’s funny how a few games can really change the conversation and meaning of games. Previously, it was all about holding off Roma for the coveted 4th spot for Champion’s League football next year, and it’s laughable to think about how fast that script has turned given their horrific form since the return from the break. With all that being said Atalanta have a legitimate chance to at least bag 3rd place in the league again, if not 2nd place, if Lazio keep faltering and falling into the doldrums. But everything begins with the match against The Old Lady.
Oddly with everyone yelling for Sarri to be sacked at Juventus, they still looked poised to go onto to win the Scudetto for the umpteenth time in a row, and even being in first place, it seems like no one is ever satisfied with Juve’s performances. Perhaps its failures of securing a Champion’s League crown, but winning Serie A is never enough for Juventus unless they slaughter the rest of the league. Nothing would please me more than for Atalanta to continue to act as the spoiler and unleash chaos throughout Juve’s fans and brass, it may just be enough to fluster them, and make the 6-point gap that would result from an Atalanta victory feel much closer.
Last time out, Atalanta took the game to Juventus, and perhaps outplayed them. An unfortunate penalty cross-bar hit by now-Bologna striker Musa Barrow and a late goal by Dybala does not tell the whole story of how Juve’s 3-1 victory played out. Atalanta came in with their classic tenacity, and were not afraid to take the game to Italy’s finest. This time out, it will be interesting to see how Atalanta responds. While they won their last two games, neither offensive performance was convincing, and oppositely in fact they looked relatively solid at the back (granted one game was against a 10-man Cagliari side). And now with 3 straight clean sheets, Atalanta has done something to shore up the defensive side (the Udinese game definitely could have been a scare for Gasp).
Caldara has been excellent the last few games, and a backline of him, Palomino, and most likely Toloi will have to continue their effectiveness in neutralizing Ronaldo and Dybala who has recently been electric. Now the offense… We’ve definitely been spoiled with 3 and 4 and 7 goal games, but the reality of football is sometimes grinding out a 1-0 victory is what you need to do. It shows growth that Atalanta can adapt to the flow of the game, and perhaps they don’t need to flat out attack non-stop and leave porous holes for teams to counter through. Juventus will definitely want more of the ball than some of their other opponents, so I do expect good opportunities for Atalanta to quickly counter and open up the passing lanes for Papu and the wingers. With Zapata doing yeoman’s work to stave off aggressive backlines, a change of pace may give Atalanta some more wide open chances than they have been used to lately. And especially with white hot Muriel coming off the bench to score braces from everywhere, he may be the ultimate X-factor in how the game turns out.
This should definitely be one of our most thrilling games of the year, and regardless of the outcome, I want to see Atalanta take the game Juventus and not shy away. They continue to show they belong in the upper echelon of Serie A, and Saturday is a perfect chance to prove it again. As always, Forza Atalanta!
