Atalanta-Salernitana 1-1: goals from Ederson and Pasalic

From our correspondent Andrea Elefante

May 2nd
– BERGAMO

Another step towards the salvation of Salernitana, another false step at Atalanta, which sees Europe move a little further away: a goal still possible, at least with seventh place, because the rivals hold back almost as much as she does, but continue to losing all these possibilities could be fatal. Today Gasperini’s team remains eighth (on equal points with Fiorentina, but has unfavorable direct clashes) and the only consolation is that they will play the next two away games, where they certainly struggle less. Deserved point for Salernitana: Nicola has given this team an indestructible soul, an unshakable conviction and the idea of ​​a concrete but effective football, with a defensive phase finally up to par, the result of an extraordinary collective work: never seen racing Greens so much. And so the dream of being saved is really no longer a utopia.

THE CHOICES

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Gasperini focuses on the superoffensive trident: Muriel and Boga together with Zapata, all three together for the first time since the beginning. Almost obligatory options in midfield, with Hateboer and Zappacosta on the flanks and the highly titled De Roon and Freuler; behind, without Toloi, still trust in Scalvini, together with Demiral and Palomino. Nicola does not deny the 3-5-2, adapting Ruggeri to play the central left-handed together with Fazio and Gyomber, with Mazzocchi and Zortea on the wings and Verdi together with Djuric in attack.

FIRST HALF

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The cliché is the same as always in Atalanta home games: closed spaces and difficulties in finding solutions to open gaps, but also in managing opponents’ counterattacks. Salernitana is in a state of grace, physically and above all psychologically, she fights for every ball, replies blow by blow, she does not run serious risks because the only two times the Goddess sees the door, Zapata is blocked by Gyomber and Sepe closes well the mirror to Freuler. But Nicola’s team does not just watch: twice Musso is forced to relax on two conclusions from Coulibaly and at the first real chance passes: minute 27, Atalanta does not find the right positions on the developments of a free-kick. head bank of the usual Djuric, who dominates Scalvini, Ederson finds the central insertion, taking Demiral behind him. For the umpteenth time Atalanta find themselves at home and the frenzy does not help them to regain the necessary clarity to find clean solutions, also because Fazio and Gyomber play a practically perfect match, while Palomino and Demiral, both booked in the same action. , are the mirror of the nervousness of Gasperini’s team, once again a prisoner of its offensive limits.

SECOND HALF

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If possible, Atalanta’s offensive stutters emerge even more in the second half, which passed almost entirely in the opponent’s half, but without being able to achieve so much domination. A header by Palomino from an inactive ball, but also two other saves by Musso against Bohinen and Coulibaly. Then a siege that produces only a diagonal from Maehle rejected by Sepe and a wide left from Malinovskyi, who entered perhaps too late. It was precisely his invention, at 43 ‘of the second half, to find the insertion of Pasalic on the edge of the offside, who at least guessed the 1-1 diagonal. But Salernitana does not feel the blow, Musso even has to oppose the possible mockery of Bohinen and Malinovskyi’s left sends high the ball of a victory in extremis that Atalanta would not have deserved.