Date: November 3, 2020
Time: 15:00 EST
Well, we’ve made it! Liverpool comes to Bergamo in what will be one of Atalanta’s biggest clashes in their 100+ year history. Unfortunately my hot take about Gosens being the key component to La Dea’s success will not come to fruition (stupid calf), so what can Atalanta do to fend off a team that can feast on defensive shortcomings?
It all is going to starts with the defense. Stopping a brutal front 3 of Mane, Firmino, and Salah (assuming they all play) will be a task in of itself, but going beyond their defensive duties, they’ll have to be perfect in playing out of the back and beating Liverpool’s ruthless press (sound familiar?). No silly back passes from Mojica, or heavy touches from Hateboer can be tolerated against the Reds, or we’ll be playing hoofball like a Liverpool team from the ’80s. If the back three and wingers can effectively beat the press, get the ball to the midfield and Papu, and let him open up and pick apart a Van Dijk-less defense, La Dea has a chance to get their fair share of opportunities.
We all know what Freuler means to the midfield, but Atalanta will really need Pasalic to grow into his double pivot duties. I specifically called out Super Mario, because he’s very adept at changing possession and is quite good at completing medium to long passes. If he’s comfortable working in tight spaces and can change field to a streaking Hateboer or Mojica, he can definitely take advantage of perhaps Liverpool’s biggest weakness, full back defense. Trent Alexander-Arnold is a stud going forward, but has vulnerabilities at the back, making it even more of a shame that Gosens can’t take him on. Mojica will have a huge task ahead of him to emulate Gosens and do a bit more than corner himself by the flag and thrust in a cross. Attack TAA!
So if we can get past the first third with good build up play from the back, and pass the second third with Pasalic and Freuler spraying passes to the wingers and Gomez, it comes down to the Papu and Duvan taking advantage of a good Liverpool back two, but nowhere near as good without Virgil. Hell I’d even be keen to go with a 3-4-1-2 with a Duvan, Muriel front line that gives the Liverpool defense two different weapons to deal with; the power of Duvan and the pace of Muriel. Both players have been on good form lately, and if Papu is able to pepper in passes to the Colombians, I see goals, not sure how many, but it will be very difficult for the Liverpool defense to keep a clean sheet.
You never want to have injuries determine a game, but with Van Dijk, Fabinho, Thiago, Keita, and Oxlade-Chamberlain either out or doubtful, it can gives one further hope that Atalanta can pull out a result. Saturday’s victory didn’t deliver much confidence to Atalantini, but three points is three points and a confidence boost regardless of who the opponent was or how they played. I hate the short turnaround, but this is how teams grow, and I can’t wait to see Atalanta continue to grow in front of our eyes and attempt to dethrone a giant of European football. I’m cautiously optimistic tomorrow, and can’t wait for what’s in store. As always, Forza La Dea!
