Atalanta Vs Juventus [3–0] – Coppa Italia 2025/2026: Efficiency Over Volume – Tactical Analysis

Atalanta hosted Juventus at the New Balance Arena for the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia, which saw La Dea pass to the semi-finals to meet the winner of the Bologna vs Lazio.

Atalanta showed great determination to win the game, even though Juventus attacked more, had more possession, and took more shots on target.

Atalanta were more pragmatic and capitalised on most of their chances to secure the win against a tough opponent.

Reaching the final and potentially winning the cup means a lot more to Atalanta compared to Juventus, as the Cup is becoming a concrete solution for Atalanta to win a European participation next season, in case they do not finish in a position that qualifies them to such a competition.

That’s why eliminating Juventus was crucial for Atalanta to continue their journey in the cup, especially when knowing that their next opponents will not necessarily be much tougher than Juventus.

On the other hand, Juventus lost an important battle, but at the same time, this will help them focus more on Serie A and their UEFA Champions League journey, knowing that gaining more time and energy will be crucial for them to potentially win more games in the league and in the UEFA Champions League.

And even though Juventus obviously prioritise the league and the UEFA Champions League over the Cup, they did try to win this match, starting with almost their best lineup, but that was not enough to beat Atalanta.

In this tactical analysis, we will focus mainly on Juventus’ attacking errors, areas for improvement, and what prevented them from scoring in this match.

Atalanta Vs Juventus Lineups & Formations

Raffaele Palladino started the match in a 3-4-3 formation, with Marco Carnesecchi as the goalkeeper, and all three of Giorgio Scalvini, Berat Djimsiti, and Honest Ahanor as centre-backs.

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

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

Luciano Spalletti started the match in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Mattia Perin as the goalkeeper and Federico Gatti and Bremer as centre-backs.

He used both Pierre Kalulu and Lloyd Kelly as full-backs, with both Manuel Locatelli and Khéphren Thuram as central midfielders.

Up front, Juventus used Francisco Conceição as a right winger, Andrea Cambiaso as a left winger to rest Kenan Yıldız as a preparation for the weekend league game, and Weston McKennie as an advanced playmaker behind the striker Jonathan David.

Juventus Attacking Issues Vs Atalanta

Atalanta started the match with the right attitude, pressing high on Juventus and preventing them from building up from the back.

It is true that Atalanta’s high pressing did not yet reach the excellent pressing quality applied under the management of Gian Piero Gasperini previously, yet, it counts for Palladino that he pushed the team significantly to be effective with their high-pressing attempts.