It’s that time of the week again where you come to the dedicated Atalanta corner of the site and listen to me go on about just how brilliant the mighty Orobici are!
They say winning games can become a habit, and that certainly seems to be the case for Stefano Colantuono’s Atalanta of late. Following last weeks brushing aside of Sampdoria, things are looking a bit more tricky in the coming weeks so it was important to pick up maximum points against a below par Blucerchiati.
Sunday’s match never looked as if it would result in anything other than a home win for La Dea. As is the case when any team comes to Bergamo, a home win was always likely before kick-off and probably would have been the case had Sampdoria performed at a reasonably respectable level.
The task of Germán Denis and co was made endlessly easier by their opponents who only really started to play any sort of positive football when they were already 3-0 down and out of sight.
The visitors were so bad on the day that their performance even sparked furious comments from coach Sinisa Mihajlovi? questioning the manhood of his players after the game, saying that his players must first play like men, then footballers.
The Nerazzurri have gone four games without defeat since the 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Parma, drawing with Udinese and beating Chievo, Lazio and Sampdoria, but things are about to get a lot more testing in the coming weeks.
Next up for the side from Bergamo is a trip to the San Siro. This is not always an intimidating place to go these days with the collapse of AC Milan but unfortunately, it is to play their in-form rivals – Inter.
In what will be a battle of the Nerazzurri’s we will see two of Serie A’s form teams go head-to-head, with Inter going into the game having not lost in six.
Atalanta’s problems on the road this season have been well highlighted in my Club Focus’s so far this season but they are currently enjoying a two game unbeaten streak on the road and it will be interesting to see if the recent draw in Udine and win in Rome could prove to be a turning point in La Dea’s fortunes on the road and if they can begin to perform similarly to the levels they hit in Bergamo.
Things get easier for a few weeks after the trip to Milan, but not for long. Two home fixtures against Livorno and Sassuolo are separated by a trip to Bologna – a run of fixtures which I expect the Orobici to take at least seven points from.
After this kind looking trio there is another trip to Rome on April 12th, a match that I am happy to say I will be present in the Olimpico for, as myself and many other writers and contributors to the site are heading over to Italy for our second Forza Italian Football weekend of calcio of the season.
It is worth noting that neither of the clubs from the capital have beaten Atalanta yet this season, with the Giallorossi being held to a draw as they came to Bergamo and Lazio falling to two defeats against Colantuono’s men.
Although defeat is likely this weekend, there is a wonderful opportunity in the following matches to regain the recent form and get enough points on the board to help secure the top ten finish that Atalanta deserve this season.
As we saw in the recent trip to Rome, this is a side that are capable of causing a surprise, so I’m not going to write off this weekends game as quickly as I did before the Lazio trip – I’ve learned my lessons!
Until next week, FORZA ATALANTA!
Follow Conor Clancy on Twitter: @concalcio
