With a typical performance at VfB Stuttgart, Atalanta Bergamo has shot to the top of the Champions League table. In the surrounding area, dreams of winning the title are already growing.
In retrospect, VfB Stuttgart would certainly have liked to have swapped two Champions League opponents: first Atalanta Bergamo, which started the season with only two wins from eight competitive games, and now Real Madrid, which is currently stumbling into a royal crisis – in both cases, more might have been possible than two respectable but point-less performances.
Atalanta certainly proved on Wednesday evening in the “beautiful stadium” (Gian Piero Gasperini) of VfB why it is one of the most in-form clubs in Europe. “We have to pay tribute to our opponents for this performance here,” said Sebastian Hoeneß after the 2-0 defeat. “They show what makes them tick week after week. They defend with great discipline, are very experienced, very cool in their play and don’t need much.”
With their man-to-man defense across the entire field, the reigning Europa League champions repeatedly put the play- and pass-strong Stuttgart team under pressure, ‘annoying’ them almost the entire game because they hardly let up in their consistency. The reward: a jump to ninth place in the Champions League table with still no goals conceded, which only Inter Milan can match after four matchdays.
Hoeneß: “They will play a very good role in the Champions League”
“Against a team that beat Juventus away from home,” his team won “which gives us confidence,” said Atalanta coach Gasperini, pleased with the result. “We knew that we would need to perform very well physically against Stuttgart to get the win. I’m very happy with how my team handled the task. The early goal in the second half helped us, of course.” They ‘had to suffer a little at the end,’ but overall played ‘with character.’
Hoeneß is certain: “They will play a very good role in the Champions League. They play at a very high level and have yet to concede a goal. The team is doing very well.” It was not for nothing that VfB’s dress rehearsal was a 3-0 win at league leaders SSC Naples, making it the fifth consecutive Serie A three-pointer.
Gasperini does not consider Atalanta ready for the Scudetto – Kolasinac injured
Is this team, which in addition to Gasperini’s typical goal fireworks up front now also seems to be standing more and more stable at the back, even ready for the Scudetto? No, Gasperini dismissed that on Wednesday evening, saying that they are not ready for that yet. There were “still many steps missing,” and he said that not to be understated or to “hide.” But: “We hope to stay in the leading group when the others are waiting for us.”
With just three points separating them from Napoli, Atalanta are in third place and will face eighth-placed Udinese Calcio on Sunday. They will likely be without Sead Kolasinac, who was injured in the early stages of the game against his former club VfB and, Gasperini fears, has pulled a muscle.