A clash between the Serie A top four was played on Sunday as Atalanta took on Inter at the Gewiss Stadium. It was a tense, careful, technical, energetic battle as both sides prepared excellent tactics to try cancelling each other out. Despite the teams not scoring, the process was not boring as the teams demonstrated very good movements to open spaces. This tactical analysis investigates the build-up, off-ball movements of Inter, and how Atalanta combated without a proper right-back.
Lineups
Gian Piero Gasperini might have had a headache when choosing his defenders as there were so many wing-backs injured, including Joakim Mælhe, Hans Hateboer, and Robin Gosens. He kept Davide Zappacosta on the bench, started Giuseppe Pezzella and Berat Djimsiti as the full-backs as his side played in a back four. This 4-3-3 is a proper formation to adapt to the opposition shape as La Dea were defending in a man-oriented scheme.
Simeone Inzaghi chose a 3-5-2 formation as usual, but he was not starting Lautaro Martínez. Instead, Alexis Sánchez started alongside Edin Džeko. Matteo Darmian started over Denzel Dumfries the coach wanted a deeper right wing-back in this game. The former Manchester United defender was more competent on the ball, so he could involve in the construction phases more as I Nerazzurri wanted more control in this game.
![Lazio Vs Napoli [0–2] – Serie A 2025/2026: Maurizio Sarri Zonal Marking Weaknesses And Unsuccessful Attacking Choices – Tactical Analysis](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Lazio-Vs-Napoli-tactical-analysis--350x250.png "Lazio Vs Napoli [0–2] – Serie A 2025/2026: How Antonio Conte Tactics Exploited Structural Flaws – Tactical Analysis 8")
