by Fabio Gennari
In the ailing Velodrome, Atalanta snatched a good draw in the first leg of the Europa League semi-finals and kept the qualification discussion open in view of the return leg which will be played on Thursday 9 May in Bergamo. They hit the mark Scamacca And Mbembain the second half a couple of good opportunities for Lookman And Miranchukbut also a sensational crossing of the poles of Ounahi and a result that, in the end, is right for what we saw on the pitch.
The coaches’ choices
Surprise choice for mister Gasperini when the official lineups were announced: Mario Pasalicbrought to the press conference the day before and considered by many as an almost certain starter in the Orobic eleven, goes to the bench and plays in his place Scalvini. The defender who grew up in the academy is fully recovered, the fatigue of the match against Empoli is evidently overcome and the Bergamo coach chooses him from the first minute to face the French trident, which is made up of Sarr, Aubameyang And Luis Henrique.
For the rest, the formation of the Orobics is as expected, with Musso in the door, Djimsiti And Kolasinac to complete the three-way line, Zappacosta And Ruggeri external with de Roon and Ederson in the middle of the shoulders of the trident composed of KoopmeinersScamacca e De Ketelaere. The hosts play with the 4-3-3 and the most important news is that they are injured Murillo, Mbemba And Balerdi they are all on the field at the same time. Crazy climate at the Velodrome, over 65 thousand fans present. The 2,800 people from Bergamo who followed make themselves heard, but the home crowd was simply overwhelming.
A flash of Scamacca
The match, from the first minutes, is truly enjoyable. The two teams face each other head-on and ball possession is almost equally divided. The first forward ground ball action is for Atalanta and the opening goal arrives immediately: Ruggeri serves Ederson, who controls to follow, Koopmeiners intervenes in the finisher position who puts a vertical ball into the area on Scamacca. The Bergamo team’s center forward appears in front of Pau Lopez and strikes him with a right diagonal that explodes the visitors’ sector. As in Liverpool, Gasperini’s team took the lead. But in the bedlam of the Velodrome the home team’s reaction was almost immediate and led to Kolasinac’s injury a little later. It’s the quarter of an hour, Luis Henrique puts in a delicious ball with the winger for Sarr, but the advance of the Bosnian number 23 is decisive. Unfortunately, in the deadlift, the flexor gave way and shortly afterwards it was Pasalic’s turn to take his teammate’s place, with de Roon climbing to the defense.
The hosts push and in the middle of the first half they find the equalizer: on a corner kick from the right, the French exchange the ball on the ground with speed and Kondogbia’s support for Mbemba favors the conclusion with the inside right of the latter last, who dies on the far post without Musso being able to intervene in any way. Around the half hour mark, a double opportunity, first from Atalanta (cross from De Ketelaere, the ball crosses the entire area and then Zappacosta catches Koopmeiners with a shot) and then with Veretout, who is stopped by a prodigious intervention from Ederson in a slide. Just before the break, a big scare for the Goddess with a lightning-fast restart that takes de Roon and his teammates by surprise: it’s the 38th minute, Aubameyang is served by Harit but, alone in front of Musso, the attacker shoots on goal.
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Tight-lipped
In the second half, the home team’s pressure became more intense. At the start Aubameyang shoots towards Musso, but the Argentine’s save is comfortable (47′); after another couple of rather simple conclusions for the relevant goalkeepers (51′ Koopmeiners, 58′ Kondogbia), Atalanta was the first to create the conditions for the lead: it was the 64th minute and Lookman, who had recently come on in place of Scamacca, escaped into the left-handed lane, swerving into the area on the right and sending the curling shot one meter from the post . A little later, a huge scare for the Goddess with Musso’s great save on Aubameyang and Sarr’s subsequent goal, fortunately nullified by the (correct) offside signal at the start of the action.
The hosts’ biggest chance came at the feet of Ounahi (73′), who hit the top corner to Musso’s left. After a split save by Djismiti following a cross from Marseille’s usual number 8, the last chance was for Miranchuk, who in the 90th minute sent the ball grazing the post for a success which, given the match on the pitch, would perhaps have been too much . At the referee’s final whistle Siebert it is therefore 1-1, qualification for the final in Dublin will be decided in Bergamo: Atalanta can do it, next week they will need another great night.
Marseille-Atalanta 1-1
Networks: 11′ Scamacca (A), 20′ Mbemba (M).
Marseille (3-4-3): Paul Lopez; Mbemba, Balerdi, Murillo (72′ Ounahi); Clauss (66′ Merlin), Harit (72′ Ndyaie), Veretout, Kondogbia; Luis Henrique, Sarr (66′ Moumbagna), Aubameyang. All. Gasset.
Atalanta (3-4-1-2): Musso; Scalvini, Djimsiti, Kolasinac (16′ Pasalic); Zappacosta (85′ Hateboer), de Roon, Ederson, Ruggeri; Koopmeiners; Scamacca (59′ Lookman), De Ketelaere (85′ Miranchuk). All. Gasperini.
Referee: Siebert (GER).
Ammonites: 69′ Belardi (M).
