Date: July 17, 2020
Time: 11:15 EST
After dominating relegation bound Brescia, Atalanta comes back with one of their trickiest matches of the 2nd half. Performing an Houdini-esque escape act to come away with 3 points last time out, Hellas Verona will look to give La Dea fits with the same pressing style that Atalanta imposes upon their own opponents.
Defenders Toloi, Palomino, and finally Djimsiti all connected with passes and the eventual goal to lead Atalanta to victory the first time out; but this time out, I think all Atalanta faithful would much rather have someone else other than the center backs pulling out the victory in the waning moments of the game. Granted, given the storming form La Dea continue to exhibit post COVID, one would expect a much different result this time out. But with Gasperini disciple Ivan Juric leading the helm on the other sideline, it will be a dog fight from the first whistle.
Although Verona’s form has dipped recently, they are still one of the surprise stories of Serie A, and a testament that a heavy pressing style of defense doesn’t just work for Atalanta, but can be repeated in different circumstances. Without a true goal scoring threat, Verona lacks the thunder they need to continue climbing spots in the rankings, but still have enough defensive prowess and tenacity to throw larger opponents off of their game plan. Saturday will be a battle through and through, and I wouldn’t be shocked if the game came down to the 93rd minute once again.
A fortunate schedule allowed Gasperini to rest a good portion of his starters. Papu, Ilicic, Freuler, Palomino, Toloi, Hateboer, and Muriel (hopefully he’s back from his unfortunate pool accident) all will have a week’s worth of match rest. Also, Duvan, Ruslan, and Caldara didn’t see full match time against Brescia which could prove to be a huge advantage as teams look to limp towards the clogged end of the season. In addition, Hellas have only won one game in their last five, including an embarrassing 2-0 loss at the hands of Brescia, so fatigue could really be a huge issue for Verona both in terms of providing a press and responding to one being thrown at them.
3 points Saturday guarantees Atalanta Champion’s League football again next year, and while its pretty much a foregone conclusion (unless Roma explodes and La Dea can’t scrape out a meager win the rest of the season), its always nice to win accolades on your own terms and not be the beneficiary of someone else’s errors. With that being said, let’s get the 3 points we need to guarantee 4th, and keep pace with Inter (who just passed La Dea for 2nd), and keep climbing for Atalanta’s best ever finish in Serie A. As always, Forza Atalanta!
