🔬 CL under the microscope: Atalanta | OneFootball

Imagine thinking Atalanta aren’t putting themselves in the Champions League history books.

With the remaining eight teams all in Lisbon ready to fight it out for the trophy, we’ve taken a closer look at the Italians.

🏆 What’s their Champions League pedigree like?

Simply put, they have no pedigree to speak of. This is the first time Atalanta have played in the Champions League and they qualified for the knockout stages – not bad!

✈️ How did they get here and what’s their route to the final?

Things couldn’t have started much worse for Gian Piero Gasperini after three defeats in their first three games but impressive wins against Dinamo and Shakhtar Donetsk saw them finish second in Group C.

After that, they saw off Valencia in the last 16, winning 4-1 in Bergamo and 4-3 away from home. Paris Saint-Germain await them in the last eight, then the winner of Atlético Madrid v RB Leipzig in the semi-final.

🥳  Why should I root for them?

Why wouldn’t you root for a side that scored 98 Serie A goals last season? They are brilliant to watch and have goals from every position.

😡 Why won’t everyone be rooting for them?

Everybody loves an underdog but fierce rivals Brescia will definitely be pledging allegiance to their opponents – whoever they may be!

✅ What makes them so good?

Attacking overloads in wide areas make them so difficult to defend against but, more importantly, their variety of goalscorers. Not only have the front three all scored 15+ goals this season – they have 33 goals coming from midfield.

❌ And what’s their biggest weakness?

Defensively they can be vulnerable. They are an extremely top heavy side and don’t deal with sustained pressure very well. Pierluigi Gollini is a very talented goalkeeper but there’s only so much you can do.

🔮 How will they line up?

Gasperini usually deploys a back three with attacking wing backs, but in favour of some defensive stability, Luis Muriel could be benched with Mario Pašalić playing behind the striker. Josip Iličić remains doubtful for personal reasons.

They will …

… be losing semi-finalists in heroic fashion.