Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta made their long northern trip to Scandinavia to meet Danish champions Midtjylland in the opening round of the UEFA Champions League Group Stage. Thanks to a solid ending of the first half, La Dea were able to safely cruise to a comfortable 4-0 victory, with four different attackers participating in the goal fest.
Young Danish manager Brian Priske started with Sory Kaba in attack, supported by star player Pione Sisto, who has recently completed his return to the Danish champions after his stint at Celta Vigo.
? START-XI
De udvalgte mod Atalanta ? #FCMATA | #UCL
— FC Midtjylland (@fcmidtjylland) October 21, 2020
On the other hand, Gian Piero Gasperini unleashed his Colombian duo in attack – Luis Muriel and Duvan Zapata – with La Dea captain Alejandro Gomez playing just behind them. Remo Freuler and Marten De Roon took the double-pivot roles as usual, with Hans Hateboer and Robin Gosens on the flanks.
The first chance of the match came from Atalanta’s Gosens, as the German international received a pass from Zapata, but his first time shot was just wide of the post.
On the other side of the pitch, Midtjylland had their first dangerous chance as Sisto shot from distance, but the ball was a little too high of the Atalanta goal.
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Presented by @Plus500#FCMAtalanta #UCL #GoAtalantaGo ⚫️? pic.twitter.com/uZTsS7CJH9— Atalanta B.C. (@Atalanta_BC) October 21, 2020
After a relatively quiet first 15 minutes for the Lombardians’ high standards, Zapata decided to take it up a notch, as his shot hit the post after being sent through by De Roon’s pass.
Few minutes later, the Colombian almost scored again when Freuler stole the ball deep into the Midtjylland area, but the striker’s low drive was tipped away by Jesper Hansen, and Atalanta had to wait a bit longer for the match’s opener.
Luckily for the Italians, they didn’t have to wait too long, as in the 27th minute, Rafael Toloi crossed from the right, and his fellow defender Cristian Romero expertly headed it down to Zapata, leaving the striker with all the time in the world to place his shot in the net for his side’s first of the night.
In the 33rd minute, Midtjylland almost equalized the score, when Jens Cajuste dribbled his way into the Atalanta areas and found Anders Dreyer, but his shot was parried away to a corner kick by Marco Sportiello. And unfortunately for the Danish side, they almost scored from the following corner, but his header went just wide.
Instead, it was La Dea who doubled their lead, when Zapata passed back to Gomez on the edge of Midtjylland box, and the Argentine scored a stunner in Papu’s way, when his incredible shot rocked Hansen’s goal.
Before the end of the first half, The third of Atalanta’s attacking trio wrote his name on the scoresheet. After a series of well-played passes, Zapata thundered a shot from the edge of the Danish area. The goalkeeper saved it but his compatriot Muriel was the quickest as he bounced on the rebound to seal the victory during the first 45 minutes.
The second half started slowly, with Atalanta enjoying their comfortable lead while putting minimal physical effort and Midtjylland accepting their fate and focusing on learning their way in the Champions League.
Thankfully for the viewers, the introduction of Josip Ilicic and Mario Pasalic brought some much needed excitement in the last 20 minutes, with the Croatian midfielder being sent through to goal but failing to finish his chance well.
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⚫️? Atalanta have now scored 17 goals in 5 games this season in all competitions ?#UCL pic.twitter.com/LPCL5pVoLe
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 21, 2020
Three minutes later, Atalanta had yet another great goal-scoring opportunity when Pasalic released Ilicic with a brilliant thorough pass, but the Midtjylland shot-stopper denied the Slovenian striker.
Frank Onyeka almost scored for Denmark’s champions, but his low shot went just a few centimeters away from Sportiello’s goal.
Just when the match tempo was beginning to cool down, Russian substitute Aleksey Miranchuk opened up his goal-scoring account at Atalanta, with a brilliantly curled left shot that found its way to the top far corner of the Midtjylland goal.
And so, the Italians put their weekend miseries behind them, as they ended their first away trip on a high note, adding three important points to their tally while much more complicated European missions await them in the upcoming weeks.
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? What a debut! WELL DONE LADS!!@Plus500 #FCMAtalanta #UCL #GoAtalantaGo ⚫? pic.twitter.com/mQxBIMdgxC— Atalanta B.C. (@Atalanta_BC) October 21, 2020