Atalanta's adaptation neuters Juventus and serves notice to Serie A | Paolo Bandini

It should have been all over. Within 25 minutes of Serie A’s Sunday night fixture, Juventus were two goals to the good. What opponent could overcome such a disastrous start against the champs: winners of six consecutive Serie A titles, as well as six consecutive games to begin this season? Who would even dare to fight back against the Old Lady of Turin?
Only the Goddess of Bergamo. Atalanta share their name with Greek mythology’s virgin huntress, and over the past 12 months they have embodied her combative spirit just as well.
A team whose wage budget is a fraction of those of Milan, Inter or Lazio finished above all of them last season in fourth place. Those teams responded by hoovering up Atalanta’s best talent. Roberto Gagliardini, the 6ft 3ins colossus who served as the engine early in the campaign, was packed off to Inter in January. His former midfield partner, Franck Kessié, made for Milan in the summer, together with wing-back Andrea Conti.
The heart had been ripped out of the side. But apparently not the soul. Atalanta began the new season with losses to Roma and Napoli, but since then have gone back to defying expectations.
Their reward for last season’s efforts was a place in the Europa League group stages, but few imagined them going far after they were drawn with Lyon and Everton. Even local newspaper L’Eco di Bergamo described it as a “prohibitive challenge”. That was before Atalanta thumped the English side 3-0 and drew 1-1 away to the French.
Juventus knew better than to expect a leisurely ride. They had been held 2-2 in Bergamo just this April. That memory kept them from resting on their laurels after Federico Bernardeschi capitalised on a weak Etrit Berisha parry to open the scoring this time. Play had barely resumed when Gonzalo Higuaín blasted home Juve’s second from close range.
It was an error from Gigi Buffon that allowed Atalanta back into the game. When Papu Gómez whipped a free-kick over the wall, the keeper failed to either gather or push clear – instead spilling the ball to the feet of Mattia Caldara. The centre-back will soon play for Juventus, who bought him in January before loaning him back until 2018. But he made no concessions to his future team as he slotted home from close range.
There were still just 31 minutes on the clock. And yet, seconds later, Atalanta’s manager Gian Piero Gasperini made his first substitution – withdrawing target-man Andreas Cornelius and sending on the more creative Josip Ilicic. The move almost paid instant dividends, Ilicic picking out an unmarked Jasmin Kurtic only for the latter to miscue his header from two yards.
That change speaks volumes about Gasperini and his nature as a manager. Where another might have taken encouragement from the goal Atalanta had scored, waiting in the hope that more might follow, he had seen enough to form clear ideas of where his tactical approach was falling short.
Conceptually, it had made sense to include Cornelius: a physically imposing player to hold the ball up and give team-mates a chance to get forward while providing the defence with some respite from Higuaín, Paulo Dybala and the rest. In practice, though, Atalanta struggled to get the ball to him.
Gasperini excels at these kinds of in-game changes. As long ago as 2008, José Mourinho raved about his approach. The Portuguese had changed Inter’s formation four times in a single match against Genoa only to see his opposite number respond with a tweak of his own on each occasion. “For me, as a manager, it’s a fantastic spectacle,” gushed Mourinho.
That same knack for adapting on the fly continues to mark Gasperini – and Atalanta – apart. Before Sunday, his team had recovered from losing positions to draw or win four matches this season (including the game with Lyon three days previously). They would make it five here.
The equaliser arrived midway through the second half, Bryan Cristante thumping home a header from Gómez’s outside-of-the-boot cross. It was no more than Atalanta deserved, although on another day things might have gone differently.
By the time Cristante scored, Juventus had seen a third goal disallowed following a VAR review. Stephan Lichtsteiner had delivered a forearm to Gómez’s face in the buildup, a fact missed on the pitch but easily spotted on the replay. Juventus’s players, having celebrated at length, were livid. The foul, though, was undeniable.
Further drama would follow in the 82nd minute, when Juventus were awarded a penalty for handball. Dybala’s free-kick appeared to have struck Andrea Petagna on the shoulder, but referee Antonio Damato stood by his decision even after consulting VAR. No matter. Berisha saved Dybala’s eventual spot-kick preserving the draw.
Such scenes will no doubt provoke fresh debate around the merits of the review system. Allegri was scathing afterwards, proposing: “If we want to make football into a non-sport then let’s keep using VAR in subjective situations. Then, in the spring, incidents will be so crucial that every match will last four hours like in the USA.”
Juventus, though, had not been cheated in any sense. If anything, Damato may have stuck by his initial decision on the penalty precisely because he felt that this was a subjective call. Allegri was at least cool enough to recognise that this was not a bad result. Rivals will slip up here, he noted, and this could be viewed as a point won. He might draw additional pleasure from the prospect of both Caldara and wing-back Leonardo Spinazzola playing for him next season as well.
To throw away a two-goal lead, though, will hurt. And for the first time in more than a year, Juventus find themselves without at least a share of first place at the end of a round of Serie A games. Napoli extended their perfect start by cruising past Cagliari. Incredibly, they have scored three or more goals in every one of their seven matches so far. That includes the home win over Atalanta back in August. Even the Goddess of Bergamo has her limits, after all.
Results: Atalanta 2-2 Juventus, Milan 0-2 Roma, Benevento 1-2 Inter, Chievo 2-1 Fiorentina, Lazio 6-1 Sassuolo, SPAL 1-1 Crotone, Torino 2-2 Verona, Napoli 3-0 Cagliari, Genoa 0-1 Bologna, Udinese 4-0 Sampdoria.

SOURCE : GUARDIAN SPORTS
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