The UEFA Champions League provided another fascinating matchday, with three huge Italian sides crashing out in the Round of 32.
Whilst each of Milan, Atalanta and Juventus all lost to relative underdogs, Gian Piero Gasperini was left perplexed as the reigning Europa League champions were dismantled at the hands of Nicky Hayen’s Club Brugge.
Brugge were the lowest-ranked side left in the competition, but managed to effectively nullify Atalanta’s key threats whilst also displaying their own talents in transition.
A whirlwind of emotions, both on and off the pitch, has recently come to the forefront for Atalanta, who are now out of all domestic and European cup competitions thanks to a poor run of form.
Club Brugge’s 5-2 aggregate victory seemed all too comfortable, with Hayen’s team seemingly able to stroll into Bergamo and snatch an early 3-0 lead.
The introduction of Ademola Lookman seemed to inject an element of life into Atalanta’s attacking fortunes.
Still, Club Brugge and the heroics of former Liverpool keeper Simon Mignolet stifled any further danger as the second half went on.
Our tactical analysis will begin to identify the key elements of the match which allowed Club Brugge to find so much comfort against a usually suffocating Gasperini tactics.
Atalanta Vs Club Brugge Lineups & Formations
Gian Piero Gasperini had the task of overturning a 2-1 aggregate lead for Club Brugge when returning to Bergamo for the second leg, with the iconic Italian manager opting for a 3-4-1-2 formation to suit his unique tactical principles.
Marco Carnesecchi took the starting berth in goal after a penalty save, which spared their blushes over the weekend.
Atalanta’s three-man central defensive setup comprised Sead Kolašinac and Rafael Tolói in the wider slots, allowing Berat Djimsiti to protect the more central defensive areas.
Davide Zappacosta and Juan Cuadrado offered width on the left and right flanks, respectively, allowing Marten de Roon and Éderson to complete a versatile midfield.
With Mario Pašalić operating as more of an advanced midfielder in the ‘No.10’ role, this left a striking partnership of Charles De Ketelaere and Mateo Retegui to provide those all-important goals as Atalanta chased the tie.
Gasperini’s main game-changer off the bench was Ademola Lookman.
The Nigerian forward offered almost an instant impact, which allowed his side to become more threatening against a resolute Club Brugge defensive line.
On the other hand, Nicky Hayen named an unchanged starting eleven from his side’s first-leg victory in Bruges, again lining up in the 4-2-3-1 formation from the outset.
Simon Mignolet was one of the heroes of the tie for the Belgian side.
The veteran goalkeeper was protected by a backline of Maxim De Cuyper, Brandon Mechele, Joel Ordóñez, and Joaquin Seys.
Raphael Onyedika and Ardon Jashari formed an impressive double-pivot partnership, whilst Hans Vanaken could operate slightly higher to be a crucial creative outlet in all phases of attacking play.
Both Christos Tzolis and Chemsdine Talbi had hugely important performances with their play on both sides of the ball, as they provided dangerous wing options to complete a front three lead by Ferrán Jutglà.
Club Brugge Tactics Against Atalanta’s Press
Gasperini’s Atalanta have become synonymous with a highly aggressive man-to-man press, leading them to relative success within Italian football and previous European cup competitions.
However, perhaps the most important tactical decision to counter such a pressing effort would be to attack quickly and directly, exploiting the inevitable pockets of space that would arise.
Nicky Hayen’s side seemed to execute this perfectly within the first half, consistently scoring from transitional attacks that featured flowing passing sequences and a high level of technical quality.
It was the perfect approach for Club Brugge, especially when coupled with their resolute defensive efforts and ability to soak up Atalanta pressure- leaving the Italian side drained and demoralised.
Atalanta failed to apply sufficient initial pressure to consistently disrupt Club Brugge’s build-up in those deeper areas of the pitch.
Hayen’s defensive line would become extremely stretched in order to increase the energy which both Retegui and De Ketelaere would have to expend to prevent the ball progression towards the middle and final thirds.
With Onyedika sitting nicely just ahead of the defensive line, he could provide that shorter passing outlet and then look to spread play towards the flanks- but consistent shadow pressing from Pašalić would often result in a more direct long-ball approach for Mignolet to target.
The following image highlights how Club Brugge were able to target some 2v1 scenarios with their long ball approach, allowing both Tzolis and Jutglà to contest the aerial duel against the isolated Atalanta defender.
Even though Tolói was in close proximity, he couldn’t fully engage as he was required to drop slightly deeper and protect that space behind the Atalanta defensive line that Club Brugge could exploit should they retain possession in the final third.
The positioning of Cuadrado is also an important factor, as it begins to tell another story as to how Hayen could utilise his full-backs to quickly gain the upper hand in the tie.
Even though Cuadrado would like to press high and go man-to-man with De Cuyper, negating Club Brugge’s progression on the left flank, he was often forced to drop in and be more passive due to this threat over the top from Mignolet.
Nicky Hayen Use Of Full-Backs
From the previous image, we can see how advanced De Cuyper’s positioning was in response to any potential loose balls that he could pounce on and retain possession high up the pitch.
Not only does this identify the movement of the Belgian full-back when his side are in possession, but other examples shed light upon De Cuyper’s pressing intensity in the early stages of the match.
In a match in which Atalanta were tipped to control possession and use their territorial advantages to wear down the Club Brugge defensive line, it was positive to see De Cuyper immediately pressing high to become a real presence within the left half-space.
His presence was instrumental in crafting Club Brugge’s opening goal of the match.
Those crucial positional rotations allowed De Cuyper to assume a more centralised role, while Jashari could invite the press of both Éderson and Cuadrado towards the touchline.
With the aforementioned technical quality and intricate passing ability that Hayen’s team displayed on the night, Vanaken could incisively cut through the unsettled Atalanta defence to pick out the run of Jutglà through the centre- eventually working the ball across to Talbi, who could fire home.
The damning part for Atalanta was that this attacking full-back threat wasn’t just isolated to the left flank, with Joaquin Seys having an equally impactful game over on the right-hand side.
Our next image highlights how Atalanta’s man-to-man press can quickly showcase key weaknesses when you get a progressive ball carrier emerging from the defence unopposed.
Whilst Club Brugge were well within their rights to sit deeper and protect their aggregate lead, Seys’ explosive run could dissect the pressing structure with Atalanta’s wide centre-backs often committing themselves too high out of possession.
Even though the attack resulted in an uncharacteristically errant touch in the final third, the continued run from Seys further highlights how vulnerable Atalanta were to these fast-paced sequences, with multiple runners unmarked on the opposite flank.
The story of the match revolved around how Club Brugge could manipulate the defensive positioning of Atalanta, and this continued into the second half.
Even though Nicky Hayen’s team were comfortable with the lead and switched their focus to a more conservative approach, we see how the deeper movement of Jutglà could pull the Atalanta defenders out of shape and give Talbi a chance to dart into space through the middle.
Atalanta Attacking Tactics
For a side like Atalanta, which has taken Italian football by storm this season with their attacking consistency, it was a particularly fruitless night in front of goal.
Even though you may think that only scoring one goal from an xGOT of 2.94 may indicate serious misfortune when removing Lookman’s penalty miss, Atalanta never really exhibited the free-flowing side that could consistently generate big chances.
Atalanta’s forwards have been known to split wide and offer that extra attacking threat towards the flanks.
Still, we see how limited their attacking options were once De Ketelaere produced this inventive movement.
Much like Atalanta’s own press, Cuadrado could invite De Cuyper towards the touchline and thread a ball through for the Atalanta forward to chase—but this time, the Club Brugge wingers’ defensive commitment offered that extra defensive support to quickly stifle any attacks.
Even if De Ketelaere were to find a yard of space to enter the final third, Atalanta’s numerical advantage over on the left flank was fairly inaccessible due to the complexity of the pass and how Brugge could easily shift across within a healthy time frame.
The half-time introduction of Ademola Lookman seemed to have an instant impact, with the Nigerian scoring within a minute of the second half.
He suggested a tactical change that would allow Atalanta to target a more 3-4-2-1 formation, with the two forwards behind Retegui being given more freedom to generate overloads out wide and also be more impactful within the half-spaces.
Where Onyedika could often screen that space between the lines early on, we see how De Ketelaere’s run across the defensive midfielder could provide enough space for Lookman to convert Zappacosta’s cutback.
Atalanta could also take advantage of their decision to commit the wide centre-backs to more attacking positions as a result of these overloads.
With the likes of Kolašinac positioned just at the top of the box, the subsequent defensive confusion for the Club Brugge full-backs allowed Atalanta to have more favourable crossing angles and target the Brugge box with some pinpoint deliveries.
Whilst this did result in Atalanta’s concession of a penalty, Nicky Hayen’s decision to introduce Hugo Siquet allowed the away side to defend in variations of the 5-3-2 and 5-2-3 for the remainder of the match, widening their defensive line to emerge victorious in that heavily contested flank battle.
Conclusion
On a disappointing night for Gasperini’s Atalanta, Club Brugge’s brilliance really shone through as they progressed into the final 16 of the UEFA Champions League.
From two sides that were on completely opposite sides of the playoff standings heading into this Round of 32, the Belgian underdogs were able to showcase the bite and resilience to go toe-to-toe with one of Europe’s most difficult teams to face.
Another heartbreaking defeat for Gasperini’s side will raise further questions that they will need to answer as we approach an entertaining Serie A run-in.
