Champions League team guide: Atalanta in the spotlight

Atalanta scraped into the Champions League by a single point, finishing third in Serie A last season.

A 4-3 win against Genoa clinched qualification with a game to spare — which was fortunate, as they lost their final match of the season 2-0 to AC Milan, who leapfrogged La Dea into second place in the table.

Atalanta scored 90 top flight goals last season, the most of any team in the league.

The men from Bergamo ended the campaign with the same number of points as fourth-place Juventus but a 1-0 win over the Old Lady in April meant Atalanta finished above them due to their superior head-to-head record.

European history

Atalanta were the 2019-20 Champions League season’s surprise package.

After losing their first three games, they drew with Manchester City before winning their final two group stage matches against Dinamo Zagreb and Shakhtar Donetsk to finish second in Group C.

They then beat Valencia 8-4 on aggregate to reach the quarter-final.

Atalanta took the lead through Mario Pasalic in that single-legged quarter-final match against Paris Saint-Germain that year and they looked set to upset the French giants.

But two stoppage-time goals from Les Parisiens broke the Italian's hearts and put an end to their Champions League run.

Last season, Atalanta finished second in their group behind Liverpool, but lost in the round of 16 to Real Madrid.

The furthest they have gone in Europe was the semi-final of the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1987-88.

Atalanta's Champions League group

Group F: Villarreal, Manchester United, Atalanta, Young Boys

Expectations

Atalanta’s last two European campaigns show that they can mix it with the continent’s best, while their impressive performances in Serie A reflect one of Europe’s most upwardly mobile clubs.

Despite losing club legend Papu Gomez and a number of other key players last season, La Dea still finished third in Italy’s top tier for a remarkable third year in a row.

Their famous victory over Liverpool at Anfield last season is a reminder that Gian Piero Gasperini’s men have the potential to surprise whoever they play.

Star man: Robin Gosens

Left wing-back Robin Gosens was one of Germany’s top performers at Euro 2020, scoring one goal and setting up another in their 4-2 win over Portugal.

That performance came on the back of an incredible 11-goal season for Atalanta in Serie A, during which he also chipped in with a further six assists.

Gosens, 27, has been at the Bergamo-based outfit since 2017 after they signed him from Dutch side Heracles but could be set for a move to one of Europe’s big-name clubs if he continues to set the league alight in 2021-22.

One to watch: Joakim Maehle

On the other flank for Atalanta is Danish dynamo Joakim Maehle.

La Dea signed the 24-year-old from Genk as a replacement for Timothy Castagne, when he joined Leicester in 2020.

Maehle broke into the Atalanta side after an injury to Hans Hateboer last season and will be competing with the Dutchman for the right wing-back spot this season.

He was one of the standout players in Denmark’s run to the semi-finals at Euro 2020, where he caught the eye with two goals and an assist across the tournament.

The boss: Gian Piero Gasperini

The success of Atalanta’s wing-backs is mainly down to manager Gasperini and his attacking 3-4-3 formation.

Gasperini’s style of play has made Atalanta the top scorers in Serie A in each of the past three seasons, and saw them net an unbelievable 98 league goals in 2019-20.

The club were at risk of relegation when the 63-year-old coach took over in 2016, but he surprised everybody by leading them to a fourth-place finish — bringing European football back to Bergamo after a 26-year absence.

It was not a one-off either, with Atalanta finishing seventh the next season, before securing three third place finishes in Serie A.

Gasperini is yet to win a major trophy with Atalanta, losing twice in the final of the Coppa Italia, but he has been named Serie A Coach of the Year in 2019 and 2020.

All information correct as of 10am, September 14, 2021