Football can be a ruthless game. Atalanta had everything to please. World admiration, bravery, team spirit and 1-0 merit against the prima donnas of Paris. Then, in the two-minute, Thomas Tuchel’s team took a turn to dramatically break their quarter-final gaffe and move on to the final 4 of the Champions League.
As it may have been different. Atalanta was never baffled by Paris Saint-Germain. It was predictable. The team of coach Gian Piero Gasperini has played football before the entire season. This is what led the Italian club to the eighth round of the festival in the first place. Atalanta’s defensive line was so high that they played with 8 or nine players in the PSG semi-final. Mattia Caldara was one of 3 centrals that were on French soil.
Rafael Toloi, another central defender, facilitated Mario Pa’auau’s goal in the 26th minute. The Brazilian’s foray into the French area left Pa’alio loose to pull out a corner. It is a well-worked purpose and a testament to Atalanta’s philosophy.
PSG, on the other hand, was indecisive and disjointed. From the beginning, there was some nervousness in the French series champion: Neymar’s 3-minute failure, the fragility of his midfield and the lack of direction. The team didn’t look like a personality.
On the bench, Tuchel seemed dazed. With a damaged metatarsal, he sat, Bielsa-style, in a cooler. Unrestricted exits played with memory, doing what they knew best. His PSG, again, looked less than the sum of his parts. The team ran out of ideas.
The turning aspect of Atalanta’s relentless commitment to attacking football was obvious: the PSG would exploit the area behind it. Sometimes Atalanta’s defense has emptied. It was an arrogant, high-risk strategy. First, PSG’s number ten failed a normal out-of-the-box possibility, then ended unconvincingly while waiting for Mauro Icardi’s career before the Brazilian scored a remarkable hat-trick in the 42th minute.
It was a night when Neymar did what he did, or often. He was livid by undeniable failures, but also aroused admiration for the explosions of original quality, every time his team channeled the ball through it. The Brazilian, you felt it, looked for him, a little too even. He made no buyers of the modest Italian opponent. The PSG trusted his Brazilian talisman and tried to answer the call, breaking the lines and creating danger.
Neymar was the most productive player on the court, but he also seemed defeated by Tuchel’s simplistic plan to simply give him the ball. Throughout the night, there was a nervousness around the PSG game, paralyzed invisible through the humiliating eliminations beyond the seasons.
After a first quarter of an hour disjointed in the middle of the moment, Tuchel nevertheless released Kylian Mbappé, who had been sent to the bank for injury. With the arrival of the French star, the intensity of the adjustment doubled. Frayed nerves, tired legs and PSG immobilized the Atalanta backwards. Roles have been reversed. Unusually, the Italians were now protecting a 1-0 lead.
Toloi and Hans Hateboer may not get Mbappé’s rhythm. Gradually, the tension was fixed on the Italian lag, but the end of Mbappé was too docile. Still, PSG is no longer a pedestrian. The team had a sense of urgency and exploded in the final minutes of the game with quick goals from Marquinhos and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting. Finally, Atalanta had collapsed.
However, Neymar’s two passes in preparation were instrumental. He once demonstrated why he’s so good, taking a step on the path to redemption.
PSG and the Brazilian had come out of another nightmare. They have shown a wonderful resistance to defeating the European fairy tale club. It’s no coincidence. The French had also shown the courage to go back to Dortmund in the circular of 16. They did not fall to the first delicate obstacle of the competition. For an obsessed and competitive club, this is a wonderful victory in itself.
I’m an independent football journalist in Belgium. I have traveled to more than 20 countries to report on the match. This summer I went to Azerbaijan for Europe
I am an independent football journalist founded in Belgium. I have traveled to more than 20 countries to report on the match. This summer I went to Azerbaijan for the last of the Europa League, went to Spain for the last of the Champions League, covered the FIFA Congress and the early days of the Women’s World Cup in France and spent too much time on bed buses. in Brazil the Copa America. Array gives a contribution to INSIDE World Football, World Soccer, Josimar, The Blizzard and BBC Radio’s Focus On Africa, among others. I’m also writing an e-book about my passion, the Brazilian team of the seventies. Graduated from Leuven Law School and J-School from Columbia University.