Atalanta still blunt: it’s 0-0 in Bergamo with Genoa, which saves itself
Atalanta still blunt and further and further away from sixth place, while Genoa brings home the draw it needed and saves itself. Another goalless match for this edition of Serie A ended 0-0 in Bergamo, despite the Nerazzurri’s efforts in the second half and a crossbar hit by Giacomo Raspadori. Orobici are already -7 from sixth-ranked Roma, but still face Fiorentina at the Olimpico and currently occupy the last place that gives the certainty of participating in the cups next season. Grifone, as said, arithmetically safe.
Raffaele Palladino tries to scatter some cards from the tactical point of view after the last, disappointing performances of his Atalanta. So here’s the Scamacca-Krstovic offensive tandem, both starters alongside each other with De Ketelaere a trequartista and Zalewski repurposed in his original position as a left-handed midfield flanker. The change of form does not produce any major jolts, however, except for an unassuming conclusion by Krstovic after 8 minutes that does not frighten Bijlow. On the contrary: in the opening and closing minutes of the first half it is Genoa that makes itself dangerous with first Vitinha and then Ekhator. In between, De Ketelaere tried his hand in front of the Grifone goalkeeper, who had the better of it.
The new tactical approach did not reward Atalanta, so Palladino before even the hour of play recalled Scamacca and threw Raspadori into the fray, returning to the more traditional game plan. Immediately De Ketelaere, inaccurate, and Raspadori himself after an Ederson conclusion repelled by Bijlow, try in vain for the goal. Genoa limited itself to closing every possible space to Dea, who still tried with Krstovic and Zalewski. The most dangerous of all, however, is once again Raspadori, who just over ten minutes from 90′ hits the crossbar with a broadside from the edge. In vain also Ederson’s right-footed shot, also from the distance, as time expired.
A result that weighs like a boulder for the Nerazzurri, who are coming off a black period: in the last four games Atalanta has collected just two points, the result of draws against Cagliari and now Genoa, interspersed with defeats against Roma and Juventus. Precisely against Cagliari, on the last day played away, the Bergamasks had suffered the mockery of a double by the very young Paul Mendy, class of 2007, capable of stamping twice in ten minutes and ruining Palladino’s plans on an evening to forget.
On the opposite front, Daniele De Rossi’s Genoa can celebrate a salvation conquered with full merit. The Rossoblù had already shown solidity in recent outings, although suffering a 2-0 home defeat against Como the previous day, when goals from Douvikas and Diao had condemned the Grifone to the knockout at the Ferraris. On the evening in Bergamo, however, the Ligurian team was able to suffer with order and tactical intelligence, conceding very little to their opponents and bringing home the point they needed to mathematically secure their permanence in Serie A with three rounds in advance.
In the Genoa home side, of note were the heavy absences De Rossi had to deal with: Norton-Cuffy had not been included among the summoned players for the Bergamo trip, while Baldanzi missed the match due to a physical problem. Despite the defections, the Roman coach was able to count on a compact team, with Bijlow the absolute protagonist between the posts and the Ostigard-Vasquez pair leading the defensive line with authority.
For Atalanta, on the other hand, the calendar does not leave much room for reflection: the last few days of the championship now become a real inside or outside to grab a place in the European cups. The road appears uphill, with sixth-ranked Roma still holding their fate in their own hands and a gap that threatens to become unbridgeable. Palladino will have to quickly find the right countermeasures to unblock an attack that has been struggling to find the way of the goal for too long.
