Last night, Atalanta wrapped up the performance of Italian teams in the first round of the Champions League. Gasperini’s squad struggled in the first half against the fast-paced play imposed by Arsenal, who applied high pressure effectively, consistently regaining possession during Atalanta’s attempts to build up from the back.
In the second half, Atalanta had a clear chance to break the deadlock when Retegui stepped up to take a penalty awarded by French referee Turpin. However, the Italian-Argentine striker had his shot saved by Raya, who also did well to deny the rebound.
In the end, Gasperini’s team walked away with a valuable point against a top team from the world’s richest and most competitive league, but there was disappointment over a missed opportunity.
With Atalanta’s draw, we can assess the early performances of Italian teams in Europe, ahead of next week’s debut of the unique groups in the Europa League and Conference League: in five matches played, Serie A teams have recorded one victory (Juventus), three draws (Inter, Bologna, and Atalanta), and one defeat (Milan).
