A difficult task awaits Borussia Dortmund: Twelve days before the Champions League playoffs, BVB’s opponent Atalanta Bergamo celebrated a great success in the Italian Cup. In the quarterfinals of the Coppa Italia there was a 3-0 (1-0) win against Juventus Turin.
Gianluca Scamacca took the lead with a penalty in the 27th minute. A handball by Juve defender Bremer had previously been punished according to the video images. Two minutes after scoring the evening’s goal, the Brazilian missed one of the “Old Lady’s” many opportunities when he narrowly missed the goal with his header. Overall, Turin was the more offensive team with a preponderance of chances – but Bergamo was the more ripped off team.
Strong Bergamo series under Palladino
In Serie A, Dortmund’s opponents are currently only in seventh place in the fight for a place in the round of 16 of the premier class (February 17th and 25th), but have been on the rise since the coaching change in mid-November. Raffaele Palladino took over the job two and a half months ago, and since then Bergamo has scored 20 points from the last nine league games, made it into the Champions League playoffs – and now also into the cup semi-finals.
In addition to strong defensive qualities, Atalanta also had the necessary bit of luck. Francisco Conceicao missed an outstanding double chance in the 30th minute when he was first denied by Bergamo keeper Marco Carnesecchi in a one-on-one situation and then hit the ball against the crossbar at the end of the second wave of attacks. Shortly afterwards, ex-Bundesliga professional Weston McKennie also failed to get the ball into the opponent’s goal from four meters (33′).
Double strike from Sulemana and Pasalic
In the second half, Juventus started running, but Atalanta defended their attacks strongly and struck when the opportunity arose. With the second chance of the game, Kamaldeen Sulemana scored the second goal for the hosts (77th), shortly afterwards Marco Pasalic added (84th) and finally made the decision. This not only results in an important step in the Coppa Italia, but also additional self-confidence for the upcoming BVB duels.
Until then, the Palladino team still has two tasks in Serie A. Next Monday Bergamo will face 15th place at home. US Cremonese, Atalanta visits Lazio Rome three days before the first leg in Dortmund. The cup continues on March 4th, and on Wednesday Inter Milan also reached the semi-finals with a 2-1 win against AC Turin.
