Rarely has the phrase “a game of two halves” been more appropriate than when looking to describe the 3-3 draw at Olimpico on Saturday. Atalanta were utterly dominant in the first half, leading 3-0 at the break. In the second half, they took their foot off the gas, allowed Lazio to get back into the game and were punished by the home side’s spirited fightback to only draw the game in the end. This tactical analysis will look at Atalanta’s pressing tactics, Alejandro Gómez’s impact in a new deeper role, and Simone Inzaghi’s second-half changes which underpinned their fightback.
Lineups
Inzaghi did not surprise with his selection, it was the usual 3-5-2 and no real changes in the starting eleven. That meant a strong central midfield trio of Marco Parolo, Luis Alberto and Sergej Milinković-Savić supporting the front-two of Joaquín Correa and Ciro Immobile, who went into this game with seven goals in the first seven games.
Gian Piero Gasperini produced more of a surprise. Not in terms of personnel, other than Duván Zapata and Josip Iličić missing out and being replaced by Luis Muriel and Ruslan Malinovskiy respectively, but specifically in the role played by Alejandro Gómez. The diminutive creator was deployed in central midfield, with Mario Pašalić instead playing the more advanced role. This decision had a huge effect on Atalanta’s performance, as we will see below.
To read the full tactical analysis of this match – click here
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