Welcome to Atalanta Club Focus for another week, I am warning you in advance that entertainment levels will be at a low this time around as we currently in a state of shock and mourning.
The reason for the somber setting this week is that La Dea’s superb recent form crashed and burned on Sunday afternoon as they hosted Sassuolo in the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia.
Having seen heroic victories against Lazio and Inter in recent weeks, added to the Nerazzurri’s astonishing home form this season, you would have thought it was safe to expect a comfortable victory for Atalanta.
Things looked as if the hosts were picking up where they left off, as they spent the first third of the match attacking and causing problems for their relegation-fearing visitors. Colantuono’s men should have been ahead early on and the game could well have been out of sight by the time the Neroverdi got their first. Chances for Marcelo Estigarribia and Giuseppe De Luca were stopped well by Gianluca Pegolo.
Luckily enough for La Dea, the recent good form and the more unexpected wins mentioned earlier make this slip up a little more affordable than it could have been.
Back in February, I took a look at the remaining fixtures for Atalanta and attempted to predict how many points they would have come the end of the season. I felt that I was being quite optimistic with my prediction, my estimation was 47. With the current points tally standing at 46, it might be said that not only have the Orobici already overachieved this season, but I am also terrible at making predictions!
This coming weekend poses a different kind of challenge for Colantuono’s side as they make the trip south to the capital to face Roma. Before the weekend’s loss, I was quietly confident of the possibility of an away point from this one, now, I can only see one result: a home win, which is a shame, as I will be in attendance at the Olimpico along with a few other writers from Forza Italian Football.
I am extremely interested to see how La Dea approach this game, as this will be their first time playing either of Italy’s top two on the road this season. An interesting statistic that is giving me some home ahead of the trip is that in all three meetings with the sides from the capital this season (Roma & Lazio) Atalanta remain unbeaten having held Giallorossi to a draw in Bergamo while they did the double over the Biancocelesti.
Despite being underdogs, this remains an important game for the Nerazzurri. We saw how winning became a bit of a habit, so it’s important to ensure that losing doesn’t become one now. Should they lose on Sunday, it may very well prove to be a near impossible task to qualify for next seasons Europa League depending on other results.
So, just before I finish, as I mentioned earlier myself and other writers from the site are off to Italy this weekend for the second FIF weekend of calcio of the season, we will be in attendance as Roma host Atalanta on Saturday evening before heading to see Napoli take on Lazio on Sunday. Be sure to follow our weekend on the Instagram page, where we will be posting photos from the trip throughout the weekend.
Until next week, FORZA ATALANTA!
Follow Conor Clancy on Twitter: @concalcio
