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On September 18, 2019, Atalanta’s fairy tale journey met a harsh reality. Gian Piero Gasperini led his team to Croatia for the club’s first Champions League match in its 112-year history, only to be brought to the ground 4-0 at the hands of Dinamo Zagreb.
After losing their second and third games in the competition against Shakhtar Donetsk and Manchester City respectively, La Dea somehow managed to counterattack in their last three games and advance to the knockout rounds.
What a difference a year can make. On Wednesday night, Gasperini’s team traveled again to open their Champions League campaign, and this time they made the trip to Denmark after a humiliating 4-1 loss to Napoli in Serie A, but they showed that have learned the lessons it cost them early last season and assured an emphatic 4-0 win over Midtjylland.
In a group that included Liverpool and Ajax, it was vital that the Italians get off to a winning start, but it was probably just as important that the importance of the game did not weigh too heavily on their minds, as it had seemed in Zagreb a year ago. The weather was miserable, the pitch was slippery and the Danes started on the front foot with an aggressiveness not often seen in Serie A. But it didn’t faze them.
Whereas a year ago they froze and were frustrated that things were not going their way, this time the initial ten minute storm weathered and then Papu Gómez and company. they could do their thing. The captain was as fundamental as ever to La Dea. As usual, he was falling deep to find possession and regain it as well. When he had it, he was mischievous and inquiring, always looking for the slightest hole to break through.
Gomez was rewarded after Atalanta took the lead through Duvan Zapata. The Colombian became a supplier for the second to hit his captain, allowing the number 10 to fire in a violent blow from the crossbar. The next ten minutes of the first half allowed them to put on a show, and they had to catch more than one goal that fell in the way of Luis Muriel.
The importance of the Argentine to their team is not something to be reiterated, as anyone who has seen him play in recent seasons will know how fundamental he is, but they have players whose importance is too often overlooked.
Remo Freuler and Berat Djimsiti are two of them. They returned to the starting eleven after being lost in Naples at the weekend, and it is no coincidence that the team have sent in four goals without them. The Albanian entered the break at the Stadio San Paolo and with him on the pitch Atalanta scored one to none for Napoli.
Both Frueler and Djimsiti were excellent in Denmark and handled the conditions perfectly, as did Zapata and Robin Gosens.
The goals keep coming
Atalanta have already scored 18 goals in just five games this season, reaching a goal-scoring form that they haven’t even shown before. In 2019/20 it took them nine games to score so many, but they have been nearly unstoppable in 2020/21, aside from that trip to Naples.
In last season’s Champions League they only scored three goals after their first four games, and it wasn’t until Luis Muriel’s penalty against Zagreb at home that they scored the fourth. On top of that, they have won five of their last six matches in Europe, which is as many victories as they had in their previous 15 continental matches.
However, they have scored in 17 of their last 18 European qualifiers, qualifying rounds excluded.
The Colombian connection
Zapata and Muriel, both on the score sheet, marked a memorable night for the Colombians playing in Europe. Wednesday was the first time that two Colombian players scored in the same Champions League match.
Gomez’s punch sandwiched between them only served to highlight just how important Atalanta’s South Americans have been in their recent rise, not to mention Rafael Toloi’s contributions at the rear as well.
The post Atalanta have learned their lessons and grown up in the Champions League appeared for the first time on Forza Italian Football.
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com
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