2024-09-20 06:10:03
So much of the focus on tonight’s game was taken up by Arsenal’s absences in Bergamo. Would they cope as well against Atalanta as against Tottenham, for example? What of the attritional effect ahead of Manchester City at the weekend.
Little attention was instead given to the players Atalanta were without. Giorgio Scalvini missed the Euros with an ACL tear. Gianluca Scamacca, last season’s top scorer, suffered the same injury in pre-season.
All-action midfielder Teun Koopmeiners, who matched Ruud Gullit’s record for goals from midfield by a Dutchman in Serie A, forced a move to Juventus. And yet Atalanta showed on Thursday why they’re still a match for Europe’s elite.
Were it not for Raya’s double save on Retegui, who has started the season in excellent form, they might have recorded another famous win to go with those against Liverpool, Ajax and the previously undefeated Bayer Leverkusen in Dublin in May.
Milan aside, the last two nights of Champions League action have been a good illustration of how competitive Serie A sides are against top Premier League opposition. This gameweek, once again, showed it was no fluke.
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