Heading into the second half of the season, Atalanta looked all but set for another top-four Serie A finish. Fast forward a few months, Gian Piero Gasperini’s men are four points off the race for European qualification following another lacklustre showing at Mapei.
In-form Sassuolo whizz-kid Hamed Traore scored either side of half-time to hand the Neroverdi a 2-1 home win over Atalanta as they lived up to their reputation of ‘giant slayers.’ Second-half substitute Luis Muriel netted a consolation goal for La Dea in the final seconds.
But it has hardly settled the fans’ nerves as Atalanta’s run of poor form continues to hinder their European hopes. Gasperini’s men have now lost back-to-back Serie A matches for the first time this season, conceding at least twice on both occasions.
Things are not going well for Atalanta going into the season finale. They face the prospect of finishing below the European qualification spots for the first time in six years.
Sassuolo looked like a perfect rival to get Gasperini’s men back to winning ways. Atalanta had gone unbeaten in seven consecutive Serie A H2Hs before slumping at Mapei on Sunday.
With their European hopes now in doubt, the experienced Italian manager lamented a lack of ‘quality and lucidity’ in the aftermath.
“It was an open game right from the start. We were dangerous from the beginning, but we didn’t have the quality and lucidity to do it,” Gasperini told DAZN, as relayed by TUTTOmercatoWEB.
Atalanta will have an opportunity to recover from a sticky patch when they take on mid-table Hellas Verona at the Gewiss Stadium next weekend. Despite heading back to Bergamo, La Dea cannot take anything for granted after winning just one of their last five Serie A home games.