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7 months ago
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Pep Guardiola once said that facing Atalanta was 'like going to the dentist, you always feel a bit of fear and pain'.
Only six Italian teams in history have won at Anfield: Genoa, Roma, Fiorentina, Udinese, Atalanta and Inter Milan. Atalanta on Thursday night will try to repeat history and overcome another obstacle towards the Europa League final.
Today, the team coached by Gian Piero Gasperini is very different from what was once defined as the 'Cinderella' of the Champions League, attacking and frightening all the top clubs.
That attack, formed of Duvan Zapata, Joseph Ilicic and 'Papu' Gomez was stellar and harmonious while today, the team has changed its type of game and radically modified its DNA.
They play with a 3-4-2-1 shape and Gianluca Scamacca is the spearhead of a team that plays aggressively but has lost the imagination and verve that had characterised those happy European experiences.
Atalanta stand between Liverpool and progress to the semi-finals of the Europa League
Liverpool will hope to bounce back after they were held to a draw by Manchester United
Gian Piero Gasperini's Atalanta are a decent side but not as strong as a few years back
Liverpool will find a very well-organised team but one whose batteries do seen exhausted after an exceptional first part of the season.
Atalanta is going through a moment of slight decline after defeats against Cagliari in the league and Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia. So it could be a favourable moment to face them for Liverpool.
The three-man defence becomes a five when the opposition attack and this particular tactical structure could pose a problem for Liverpool.
Today, Atalanta plays less 'European' and more 'Italian' football. They have learned to defend better and take fewer risks, so could well short-circuit Liverpool's plans.
KOOPMEINERS IS LIKE ROBOCOP
Teun Koopmeiners is the man who scares Jurgen Klopp the most and who requires the most attention.
He is a midfielder that Gasperini forged as a 'raider', a standard bearer with freedom of movement on the Nerazzurri board, playing behind Scamacca and attacking spaces with surgical precision.
Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Alexis Mac Allister, the three probable starters on Thursday night, will have to take care of him with losing sight.
The enormous figure of Teun Koopmeiners will require the full attention of Liverpool's midfield
The Dutchman is one of the most powerful players in Serie A and plays with surgical precision
In Italy, they have long understood how to block him - attach a man behind him for 90 minutes who can limit his movements.
Koopmeiners is the best midfielder in Europe in terms of performance. He has physical strength and technical quality, while tactically he is a central midfielder who with time and experience has come to understand how to be the decisive element.
In Serie A, he has scored 11 goals and provided three assists in 27 games. He looks like 'Robocop', has a physique of steel and will probably be the player to build a cage next to.
Another fundamental player for Atalanta is Isak Hien. A physically impeccable defender, he is strong in acrobatics and in man-control of opposing defenders.
Liverpool will have to hit Atalanta with speed, bypassing the Swedish giant who occupies most of the central defensive area.
Hien is another physical Atalanta player and Liverpool would be best served bypassing him
DE ROON AND EDERSON ARE TWO HARD-WORKING SQUIRRELS
The presence of Marten De Roon and Ederson will be fundamental to stem Liverpool's attacks.
Like 'Chip and Dale', protagonists of the Disney cartoon, they are two hard-working Nerazzurri squirrels who will erect a dam to prevent the Liverpool midfielder from entering the penalty area head-on.
For the two midfielders, a perfect performance will be needed from an aerobic and mental point of view.
In each match they have an average of 10km of distance covered and will certainly play a fundamental role in the 'destruction' of Liverpool's manoeuvres.
Both are the bodyguards of Charles De Ketelaere, announced by Gasperini to be in great physical shape.
Maarten De Roon puts the squeeze on Fiorentina during the recent Coppa Italia tie
Atalanta will be boosted by the return to fitness of Charles De Ketelaere for the Liverpool tie
The Belgian half-striker is the only Atalanta player who links the game between midfield and attack, and who will try to wedge himself between Liverpool's defensive lines.
If De Roon and Ederson manage to withstand the shockwave of the red river, the balance of the match will probably shift in Atalanta's favour.
THE 'SPIES' ON LIVERPOOL'S SECRETS
The mythical slogans 'You'll never walk alone' on the gate and 'This is Anfield' in the tunnel could intimidate Atalanta's players because many are having their first experience of Europe.
Atalanta must not make the mistake of waiting for Liverpool in their own half of the pitch, they have to play face-to-face by trying to win the main duels in midfield.
The English experience of their four Premier League players will be fundamental in this.
Davide Zappacosta, Scamacca, Sead Kolasinac and Ademola Lookman know English football, are experts in the Premier League and understand a match against Liverpool will be a very important test.
They personally will want to increase the regrets of English football at having lost them by trying to hurt Liverpool, and all will have been at the centre of Gasperini's technical discussions pre-match.
Former Arsenal man Sead Kolasinac has become the 'silent fulcrum' of his side's defence
Kolasinac has become the silent fulcrum of the Atalanta defence and has raised their technical level by guaranteeing experience and charisma.
Rafael Toloi's slow decline required a new asset capable of leading the defence and the Croatian giant proved to be an excellent signing without spending a single cent.
The former Arsenal star will have the task of keeping Liverpool's attackers at bay by trying to open up play for Atalanta's 'box-to-box' full-backs.
Blocking Kolasinac means Liverpool can stop at source the moves that begin with him.
ATALANTA HAVE ITALY'S BEST KEEPER
Atalanta's No 1 Marco Carnesecchi is the best Italian goalkeeper at the moment, superior even to Tottenham's Guglielmo Vicario and PSG's Gianluigi Donnarumma.
The match against Liverpool would have been fundamental to understand where his growth is at, allowing the keeper to measure his resistance to stress, but Juan Musso will play against the Reds.
He will leave Atalanta at the end of the season but an excellent match could relaunch his ambitions to play for a top club. For Liverpool, Carnesecchi's absence will be an advantage.
Marco Carnesecchi, regarded as Italy's best goalkeeper, will miss the Liverpool match
During this season, Liverpool have won 22 and drawn three of their 25 home games in all competitions - this confirms how difficult it will be for Atalanta.
The last team to beat Liverpool at Anfield was Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid, 5-2, in the last-16 of the Champions League on February 23, 2023.
Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo, Diogo Jota (out due to injury) and Luis Diaz… the whole team is a goal machine with 82 scored between those five players.
Atalanta's defence will have to keep its tactical sense and manage the tempo by attacking aggressively.
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