Dio mio, Saturday afternoon is definitely not Atalanta’s favorite time slot. After getting thrashed last week away in Naples, Atalanta carried their poor Serie A form into Saturday falling to Sampdoria 3-1. Granted the scoreline doesn’t truly indicate how the game transpired, Sampdoria took their chances well, countered effectively when it mattered, and defended well in numbers. With 8-9 Samp defenders consistently in the box, a questionable Zapata penalty was all Atalanta could really muster in front of goal. Now with two losses in a row, its not time to panic, but some legitimate questions are starting to surface that La Dea and Gasperini can hopefully answer quickly and get back on track domestically.
Gasperini got pretty cute with the lineup against Sampdoria, that included starts from backups Sutalo, Depaoli, Mojica, Pasalic (if you truly call him a backup), and Lammers. And I think it’s safe to say that his plan didn’t go as he hoped. He evidently underestimated Sampdoria, who are really coming along to their credit, and the defense lacked the necessary fluidity to handle counterattacks; especially the wingbacks. I hate to pick on Depaoli, but the dropoff between him and Hateboer is so significant that I fear Gasperini will just exhaust the Dutchman so Depaoli doesn’t get on the pitch. The jury is still out on Mojica, who doesn’t make any gross errors (save for the unfortunate handball), but it is evident he’s a different type of wingback from Gosens. He looks much more comfortable playing down the left, and doesn’t cut inside nearly as much as Robin. There’s still time for him to learn the system, and he’s technically and physically gifted, so I still have confidence he can still turn into a solid back-up option.
In my time following Serie A closely (albeit not too long), it is super obvious that fans, pundits, decision-makers, and haters are extremely quick to make rash and emotional judgements. Hell, why else would Gasperini be sacked after like 6 matches at Inter? Coming from the world of baseball, it seems foolish that a club or its fans would overreact after two games, let alone 40 games. But football is a different beast. The season is short enough where a small streak of poor form can be the difference between Champion’s League football and being mid-table, but still long enough that good decision-makers will not change their philosophy and style due to a minor slip-up. The season is a tightrope, and just because you’re a little off balance doesn’t mean you have to unnecessarily over-swing and throw yourself off the other side. Some teams act like a classic angry mob from the Simpsons, but Atalanta is not one of them. Gasperini did some tinkering on Saturday, it didn’t work as he hoped, now we’ll move on. While we have some issues to address outside the attack, the fluidity of the team will continue to improve, and I’m hopeful we won’t be having these conversations after the new year. Onward towards Tuesday, as we take on an Ajax team who hopefully used up all their goals this weekend (13-0!). As always, Forza La Dea!
Gasperini underestimated Samp for sure but also in the Napoli match he started the two reserve wing backs. I think it will continue to happen until the players improve and fit the system or he keeps the same team in for both CL and serie A at the back. Crotone next in the league so he might get away with it with then but anyone else and I feel it will be the same fate