Atlanta overcame Marseille in a thrilling 3-0 win at home. After a 1-1 draw in the first leg, they went ahead to crush the French side at Bergamo.
The Italian side has been impressive in this Europa League. They’ve proven how much of a quality they are. It began for them when they led their table in the group stage. Afterwards, they defeated Sporting CP.
Moreover, none of their feats was greater than a shocking win against the Premier League Giants Liverpool. They won at one of the most dreaded stadiums in Europe Anfield. This gave them the strong courage to push for something.
Now they are in the However the task is not done. It gets even harder as they’ll face the unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen, who are in red-hot form.
Atlanta overcomes Marseille
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Gian Piero Gasperini’s side edged past Marseille in their 2nd leg encounter. The first leg was a bit tricky for them as they drew the French side 1-1. Scamacca had taken the lead early for Atlanta with a fine top-corner strike.
The host gave a sharp response in less than 10 minutes from Mbemba. This made it 1-1. Aubameyang could have made it 2-1 for the host, but he wasn’t able to find the net. Whilst Atlanta held on till the end of the game.
The 2nd leg came for Atlanta with style, as they went for blood. Their first goal came in the 30 minutes after some end-to-end attacks with Marseille. Ademola Lookman had his shot deflected in the net.
Later in the 2nd half, Ruggeri made it 2 after a pass from Ademola Lookman. However, Marseille struggled to find their feet in that game to grind out a consolation.
Late in the 94 minutes, Toure scored the 3rd. He had a brilliant drive into the box, then he drilled a low shot into the far corner.
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Atlanta Run in the Europa
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After Leading their group, the Italian faced Sporting CP in the round of 16. They had first struggled in the first Leg at Portugal when they had a 1-1 draw. In the 2nd leg, they overcame the Portuguese side in a 2-1 win.
Their next game proved to be the most challenging for them. They traveled to England to face off an in-form Liverpool side. It was a game even most of their players would never have planned to get big results.
However, Liverpool’s sloppiness gave them a powerful edge in the game. This allowed them to crush the Reds 3-0 at home.
In the second Leg, they lost 1-0 to a more alert Liverpool side. However, the deed had been done. They qualified for the semi-finals. Atlanta will play against Bayer Leverkusen in the finals in Dublin. There they’ll be hoping to clinch their first Europa League cup.
Bayer Leverkusen threat
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The German side are currently unbeaten in all competitions. They are also on their way to a phenomenal treble. Bayer Leverkusen has already won the Bundesliga with two games to go. They have the DfB Pokal final ahead of them on May 25. They’ll also face Atlanta in the 22nd. The Xabi Alonso side will no doubt be the biggest threat to Atlanta. Nonetheless, anything could come out of the game.
The morale in the Bayer Leverkusen team is extremely high. In addition, there is also their quality football display. However, Atlanta could take advantage of fatigue and other flaws in the team.
More Tasks ahead
Atlanta is currently 5th in the Serie A and 4 points away from the top 4. They also have a game in hand. Their hopes of Champions League qualifications next season are very high if they continue their strong push.
Their next game will be against Roma in their home. They’ll need to avoid any upset as also they share the same points with them.
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