Underdogs against Bayern Munich and Kane, but Atalanta still have hope

Raffaele Palladino has entirely transformed Atalanta since replacing Ivan Juric in November, and even if the Nerazzurri are clearly the underdogs against Bayern Munich, they can still cause trouble for the Germans, as other Bundesliga sides are aware of.

Atalanta are set to take on Bayern Munich in the Champions League Round of 16, fully aware of the magnitude of the task ahead.

La Dea sit seventh in the Serie A table, but their position doesn’t tell the whole story of their form this season.

Their first coach, Juric, was sacked after winning just four of his 15 games in charge, leaving the Nerazzuri in 13th place in the Serie A table with just 13 points and two victories.

With Palladino in charge, Atalanta have won 15 of 23 games across all competitions, climbing to a Europa League spot (they are level on 45 points with Como) and just five points below the top four.

Their biggest signing in the January window was Italy international Giacomo Raspadori from Atletico Madrid, yet La Dea did not necessarily strengthen their attack as they also sent Ademola Lookman to the Wanda Metropolitano.

It is even unclear whether Raspadori will be available for the games against Bayern Munich, having suffered a bicep muscle injury just a couple of weeks ago. The same goes for Charles De Ketelaere, who underwent meniscus surgery earlier this month.

With his starting attacking midfielder unavailable in recent games, Palladino has often moved Nicola Zalewski from the left flank, adding either Mario Pasalic or Lazar Samardzic behind a lone striker.

Kamaldeen Sulemana is another option for that role, but currently, the Ghana international is slightly lower in Palladino’s pecking order.

Ederson and captain Marten De Roon provide quality and balance in central midfield. Davide Zappacosta, 33, has plenty of experience down the right flank. Raoul Bellanova is more explosive than the ex-Chelsea man, and left-back Lorenzo Bernasconi, 22, has proved to be more than a decent backup with three assists in 26 appearances across all competitions this term.

Under Palladino, Atalanta have scored 41 goals in 23 games and conceded just 19.

There have been a lot of rotations in defence with Palladino in charge, and currently, Giorgio Scalvini appears to be the only centre-back with a guaranteed starting spot. Sead Kolasinac and Isak Hien, however, have received regular playing time recently, especially following various individual mistakes from Berat Djimsiti, Odilon Kossounou and Honest Ahanor.

The latter has played only 31 minutes across two Serie A matches since an early red card in an away game at Como on February 1.

That match at the Stadio Sinigaglia perfectly showed the Atalanta spirit under Palladino. A team that has been built to play aggressively, but which is also able to resist the opponents’ pressure when necessary.

Forced to play down to ten men for practically the entire match, Atalanta still managed to come back home with a 0-0 draw, mostly thanks to their goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi, who even saved a late Nico Paz penalty kick.

The other side of Atalanta was on display last Wednesday, when the Nerazzurri beat Borussia Dortmund 4-1 with an incredible comeback in Bergamo.

Italy international Gianluca Scamacca scored the opening goal after just five minutes, and his substitute Nikola Krstovic earned a late penalty, converted by Pasalic to qualify La Dea for the Round of 16.

Atalanta’s attacking mindset, high press and quality in the final third, despite absences of Raspadori and De Ketelaere, will have to be the main features in the first leg in Bergamo against Bayern, while the second match at the Allianz Arena will naturally require a more defensive attitude and even more determination in the counter-attacks.

Strikers Scamacca and Krstovic are perfectly interchangeable and have similar numbers this season: ten goals for the Italian and nine for the Montenegrin.

True, Harry Kane alone has managed 43 for Bayern Munich this season, but we are talking about one of the best strikers and one of the best clubs in Europe for a reason.

No doubt Atalanta are the underdogs in the Champions League Round of 16, but it’s not the first time they’ve been in this position in recent years, especially against Bundesliga sides.

Back in 2023-24, they were the only team capable of beating Bayer Leverkusen, claiming the Europa League trophy and just a few days ago, they knocked Borussia Dortmund out, coming back from a 2-0 loss in the first leg.

Atalanta also beat Chelsea at home in the Champions League group phase this season and have already repeatedly shown that they rarely disappoint when the pressure is on.