Juventus’ top four ambitions received a big blow on Sunday afternoon when they conceded late to slip to a 1-0 defeat against Champions League hopefuls Atalanta.
I Bianconeri suffered an early fright when Matteo Pessina blew into the box, but his drilled effort deflected right next to the near post. Alvaro Morata had his own chance but fluffed his lines in front of goal when Juve started to grow into the match.
HT | ⏱ | Deadlock at the break in Bergamo. # AtalantaJuve #FinoAllaFine #ForzaJuve pic.twitter.com/1vuq4bEb9N
– JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) April 18, 2021
However, neither side could find the killer in the first half and they went into the locker rooms all square at the break. The second half started as a boring meeting, with the two teams missing the last ball to unlock the opposition.
Luis Muriel was ever so close to scoring after an excellent corner was met beautifully by Wojciech Szczesny, but the ball bounced off the post to safety. The pigeon Zapata then nodded next to Josip Ilicic’s cross when the hosts put Juve under pressure.
Atalanta eventually found their breakthrough in the 87th minute, when Ruslan Malinovskyi fired home from range to crush I Bianconeri’s determination and cast doubt on their Champions League qualifiers.
Let’s continue with the players’ ratings.
Heads up | MARCO BERTORELLO / Getty Images
Wojciech Szczesny (GK) – 6/10 – Little to do in the first half, as Atalanta often missed the goal. Showed incredible courage to turn away from Zapata when under pressure. Could not do anything to prevent the severely deflected strike in the end.
Juan Cuadrado (RB) – 7/10 – Caused some problems with fast footwork, but the last ball was missing. Chiesa chose the penalty spot, but his shot was blocked. Dropped his head towards the end.
Matthijs de Ligt (CB) – 7/10 – Had a couple of pops in goal, but nodded over from six yards out. Enjoyed the physical battle with Zapata. Solid, uncompromising and a little monster. Could do little to stop the last blow.
Giorgio Chiellini (CB) – 6/10 – Had a rare crack in goal, which was blocked. Gave Zapata and Muriel some joy and repelled everything that fell into their box. Returned the years. The heart breaks at the late goal.
Alex Sandro (LB) – 5/10 – Probably happy that Josip Ilicic started on the bench. Lost pace and had to turn back too often. Better defensively, but not good enough.
Eyes on the ball | MARCO BERTORELLO / Getty Images
Weston McKennie (RM) – 6/10 – Go in to counter the threat from Gosens on the wing. Muriel rattled with his tough defense and nose for danger. Unable to enter attack.
Rodrigo Bentancur (CM) – 7/10 – Performed the defensive side of his game expertly. Pressed and tracked Atalanta’s runners and remained on. Tried to carry the ball but is regularly denied by Freuler.
Adrien Rabiot (CM) – 5/10 – Some nice vertical passes to free Morata in the canals. Not really designed to compete against the powerful and relentless Atalanta midfield. Shrunk as the game progressed.
Federico Chiesa (LM) – 6/10 – Somehow I managed to look graceful while I bulldoze into and beyond defenders. It was not possible to fire a shot through the Atalanta defense when it was in front of the goal. Suffered a knock on the hour mark and was subbed by.
Conflicting | MARCO BERTORELLO / Getty Images
Paulo Dybala (ST) – 6/10 – Dropped in the pockets with space to collect the ball and run on the defense and picked out teammates with nice passes. Traced all the way back by Freuler. Missed the top corner of a whisker with a dangerous free kick. Subbed off.
Alvaro Morata (ST) – 6/10 – Worked tirelessly with his back to goal, protected the ball and brought others into play. Should have done better when he fell in front of Gollini. Forced a smart save in the second half.
How are you? | Valerio Pennicino / Getty Images
Danilo (CM) – 6/10
Dejan Kulusevski (ST) – 6/10
Arthur (CM) – 6/10
