Date: December 9, 2020
Time: 12:55 EST
Group D gets the early docket of games on Wednesday, with arguably one of the most exciting and important games of the week taking place in Amsterdam between the Dutch Giants and our beloved Dea. A fortuitous rain-out in Udine on Sunday has given Atalanta a week to recover from their poor showing against Midtylland, and hopefully be firing on all cylinders against Ajax. The winner goes through to the round of 16, but Atalanta has a little bit more fortune on their side, needing only a draw to advance. Regardless both teams have their destiny in their hands, which will provide fireworks, heartaches for the supporters, yet unadulterated excitement for the neutrals.
Ajax come into the match having lost their past two games, including a puzzling home Eredivisie loss against FC Twente (a far cry from the 13-0 thrashing they gave to VVV prior to their first match against La Dea). While Ajax isn’t lighting the world on fire, Atalanta have nothing to boast about either. Asides their herculean effort in Anfield, Atalanta haven’t won a match since October, and are struggling to find the offensive form that carried them into last year’s quarter-finals of the Champion’s League.
Even though the match is in Amsterdam, the ability to advance with a draw puts the ball firmly in Atalanta’s court. It does worry me that the combination of recent form plus easier advancement may preempt Gasperini to settle on a different style of tactics and not go out full-force like we’re used to seeing. Almost similar to the PSG match, I don’t want a defensive bus parked to play for a Mourinho-esque draw. Ajax has too many weapons with the likes of Antony, Tadic, Neres, and Traore to pick apart an Atalanta defense that is much more comfortable in doggedly man-marking opponents. Gasperini did mention not playing for the draw, which is encouraging, and I’m assuming any horrid flashbacks to the PSG park the bus technique will not come to pass. Not saying that a victory has been sealed, but at least they won’t be setting up tactically in a manner that they are not suited for.
I am, however, not opposed to a similar 3-5-2 setup that La Dea ran out against Liverpool. The midfield triangle of de Roon, Freuler, and Pessina excelled at winning the ball back quickly, and effectively pressing and neutralizing Salah, Mane, and company. Lest we forget, Cristian Romero truly came into form this game, and an extra midfielder almost gave him more of a spark to be more aggressive in his marking duties, knowing he had a bit more cover to take risks. A similar set-up against Ajax would be a nice compromise for playing slightly more defensively, but not sitting five at the back, and trying to pick the perfect time to hit on the counter ala Mexico against Germany in the 2018 World Cup.
But what to do about that offense? The attack has really lacked crispness recently, and most notably Duvan and Muriel have been shells of their true ability. Both were scheduled to line-up against Udinese to hopefully break out of their funk. But without a game since their disasters against the Danes, I’m not sure if Gasperini will roll them out (although Zapata did score two excellent goals against Ajax in the first match), especially now that Papu is back in the lineup after his little skirmish with Gasperini last Tuesday. Fortunately it didn’t seem to be a huge issue between the two men, and as both are consummate professionals, I envision the water is under the bridge between the two and Papu will prominently feature (even though Gasperini had asserted his will and benched the captain against Udinese).
Its fun, and nerve-wracking, to get do-or-die matches so early on in the season. While a loss only banishes Atalanta to the Europa League, Champion’s League has obviously been Gasperini’s focus this autumn, and anything less than advancing to the Round of 16 would most likely be considered a failure for the gaffer and the brass. Soccer can indeed be a cruel mistress, Atalanta already has more points in the groups than the last year’s Group Stage, but they are still in a position to not advance while garnering 8 points versus 7 last year. It’s always great to have luck on your side, which Atalanta absolutely had last year, but why bother on luck when we can grab the game and the group by the horns. Win the game, then lady luck is powerless and we can just sit back like a neutral in what hopes to be a firecracker of a game. You got it boys, Forza La Dea!
