Atalanta Vs Inter Milan [0–1] – Serie A 2025/2026: Cristian Chivu’s Defender-Led Attack Breaks Through – Tactical Analysis

Atalanta faced Inter Milan recently at the New Balance Arena for the 17th fixture of Serie A, and the game ended with an extremely important win for the Nerazzurri.

Although Atalanta put on a convincing overall performance and came very close to scoring the equalising and winning goals, they failed to do so and will have to accept the loss.

The loss leaves Atalanta 10th with 22 points, five behind the European spots, but a bit further from the top four.

Atalanta’s mission for the rest of the season will be complicated as the target will be to achieve one of the top four spots, but due to the fierce competition for those spots, it will not be that easy for Atalanta, especially if they keep losing points for the coming crucial period.

On the other hand, the win guarantees more stability for Inter Milan and allows everyone to work more easily during this intense period, especially after the disappointing elimination from the Italian Supercup.

Thanks to their win against Atalanta, Inter Milan now tops the standings once again, with 36 points and one more delayed game to play.

In this tactical analysis article, our focus will be on Inter Milan’s intelligent use of defenders (centre-backs and wing-backs) in the attacking phase, and on how their role in this phase is becoming even more central to the team’s attacking plans.

Atalanta Vs Inter Milan Lineups & Formations

Raffaele Palladino started the match in a 3-4-3 formation, with Marco Carnesecchi as the goalkeeper, and all three of Isak Hien, Berat Djimsiti, and Sead Kolašinac as centre-backs.

The midfield consisted of Marten de Roon and Éderson as central midfielders, with Davide Zappacosta and Nicola Zalewski as wing-backs.

Attacking-wise, Atalanta relied on Charles De Ketelaere and Mario Pašalić on the wings, with Gianluca Scamacca as the team’s main striker.

For Inter Milan, Cristian Chivu preferred to start the match using their usual 3-5-2 formation.

Yann Sommer occupied his usual spot in goal behind Yann Bisseck, Manuel Akanji, and Alessandro Bastoni as the three centre-backs.

Federico Dimarco started at left wing-back, while Luis Henrique started at right wing-back.

Hakan Çalhanoğlu started alongside Nicolò Barella and Piotr Zieliński as the three central midfielders, with Barella leaning a lot more to the right flank and advancing more often towards the penalty box.

And in attack, Chivu used his best starting duo: Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martínez, before subbing Pio Esposito on at a crucial time.

Inter Milan Attacking Performance: Centre-Backs & Wing-Backs Attacking Involvement

Inter Milan’s performance against Atalanta highlighted an important tactical trend in Chivu’s tactics: the centre-backs and wing-backs’ crucial, productive participation in the team’s attacking play.

Inter Milan were most dangerous when they attacked with their wing-backs and defenders involved, as this not only gave them numerical superiority but also added quality in passing and duels.

Inter Milan will need to keep intensifying such initiatives and encourage both Bastoni and Bisseck to be even more active in the attacking phase, as that is helping Inter Milan a lot, especially against well-organised defences.

It is true that Inter Milan’s winning goal was scored thanks to Esposito’s interception of a poor pass and his assist to Martínez, who finished with accuracy; however, Inter Milan could have scored even more than one goal in this match if the other created chances had been better exploited.

In particular, there were a few chances when Inter Milan used their wing-backs to advance to the box, despite the fact that Henrique was almost absent in terms of attacking support during the first half.

Inter Milan attacked more from the left wing during the first half and alternated between both wings during the second half when Henrique became much more involved in duels and penetrations from that side, with the support of Barella, who leaned a lot on that right side.

That said, Inter Milan could have done much better in terms of converting chances into goals as they missed more than one decisive goal-scoring action, especially during the first half.

Federico Dimarco’s Availability Inside The Box During Key Occasions

The following picture highlights one of the first half’s most dangerous occasions for Inter Milan when Martínez succeeded in receiving the ball with his back to the goal and exploited Atalanta’s very high defensive block to quickly turn and advance with the ball, but finish strangely and unsuccessfully using his left foot.

What is remarkable in this action was Dimarco’s presence inside the box and his availability as a perfect passing option to Martínez.

The latter should have done better on finishing; otherwise, passing to Dimarco would have been a very good option, since he was unmarked.

The Alessandro Bastoni/Federico Dimarco Attacking Chemistry

One of Inter Milan’s most impressive chances of the game was created on the left wing as well, when Bastoni provided a short pass to Dimarco and continued his forward run towards the box.

Dimarco was attentive and intelligent enough to predict Bastoni’s running direction and send him a long pass into space to meet him at the back of Atalanta’s defensive line and create a hazardous opportunity thanks to the chemistry between both players, Bastoni’s efficient forward runs, and Dimarco’s accurate key passing.

Bastoni was also good enough at dealing with the received pass despite being marked, as he touched it once to advance with it and added a second touch to pass the ball to the box.

Unfortunately for Inter Milan, however, Barella, who was well-positioned inside the box, was not capable of touching the ball despite the inviting pass, missing a concrete goalscoring opportunity that involved mainly the team’s left centre-back and left wing-back.

Yann Bisseck Attacking Involvement

Inter Milan’s collective attacking system allows them to find solutions over time, even when opposing teams defend well, which is why most teams, even at the European level, try to avoid playing against them.

In other words, Inter Milan has several attacking plans and solutions, which make them extremely dangerous even when their players are not at their best.

Inter Milan relies mainly on their attacking duo for finishing and advancing into the box.

But, they also rely on Dimarco and Henrique to advance as often as possible.

Furthermore, Barella leaned to the right-wing during the build-up and playmaking phase but joined the final third and the penalty box as the team advanced, playing as an advanced playmaker whenever the team attacks.

This made Barella get several goal-scoring chances like the one shown above.

In addition, Bisseck was involved in Inter Milan’s attacking play and could have scored, as he penetrated into Atalanta’s final third and drew the attention of Zieliński, who served him with an excellent long pass.

Bisseck could have exploited the confusion inside Atalanta’s defensive line better, as he could have done more to touch the ball or put his body first before the goalkeeper, who got out of his goal, to try saving the situation.

In other words, Bisseck could have won a free-kick at the edge of the box and perhaps a red or yellow card to the goalkeeper if he dealt with that situation.

That said, this action further confirms the importance of the defenders’ attacking support and involvement in the attacking phase for Inter Milan.

The Federico Dimarco & Luis Henrique Duo

And despite the injury to Inter Milan’s reliable wing-back, Denzel Dumfries, the Nerazzurri have not been significantly affected by the Dutch player’s absence and have already managed to replace him with Henrique, who is still inconsistent but useful when needed.

It is true that Augusto was not as efficient as Dimarco and does not have the key passing qualities of the latter, yet he showed during the second half that he can be extremely dangerous when he wants to.

The following occasion highlights Dimarco’s versatile passing skills and his ability to provide key passes from anywhere inside the pitch, as he moved internally this time and spotted Henrique’s forward movement on the right wing.

Dimarco timed his through pass well enough to meet Henrique’s run at the back of Atalanta’s defensive line, and he was capable of advancing without tight marking until he reached the box.

However, he definitely needs more work on his finishing and decision-making, as he chose to dribble past the goalkeeper but then failed to shoot and allowed the goalkeeper to catch his shot.

Succeeding in performing better and more efficiently in such actions would make Henrique a much more useful and reliable wing-back for Inter Milan, as he only lacks some experience and maturity to become more useful within Inter Milan’s playing system.

Conclusion

Inter Milan secured a victory at a very complicated stadium against a very tough opponent, confirming that they are capable of beating anyone in Serie A and that they are still battling seriously for the top spot.

On the other hand, Palladino’s side will surely regret losing this match as the team had several goal-scoring opportunities, most notably those of Zalewski, Scamacca’s missed header, and Lazar Samardžić’s big occasion that could have been exploited with more accuracy.

Atalanta’s overall performance was positive, as they succeeded in preventing Inter Milan from being too dangerous on the attack during the first half and limited their playmaking thanks to the continuous high pressing from de Roon and Pašalić on Zieliński and Çalhanoğlu.

However, their high pressing efforts were not sufficient to stop Inter Milan, who were good at finding solutions, especially from the wings and in breaking Atalanta’s defensive line, with key passes and penetrations.

Atalanta should focus on better exploiting their chances and converting them into goals, achieving a higher average success rate, while limiting defensive errors in such encounters.