The current season in European competition has clearly shown that Italian football is now on the rise – clubs from the Apennines can en masse reach the last stages of international tournaments, even if it is not the Champions League. This means that the decisive confrontation between two teams from among the strongest in the country is worth putting aside any other business and devoting 2-3 hours to the mesmerizing spectacle – calcio.
The final of the Italian Cup of the 23/24 season is scheduled for May 15 – that is, it will take place two rounds before the end of the championship. And although Juventus no longer claims the championship (it officially went to Inter back in April), and Atalanta is only fighting to get into the top five (and qualify for the Champions League), let’s not forget that this is a confrontation between a super club with a roster worth half a billion euros and, as at least a semi-finalist in the current Europa League.
If you want to place your own bet, go to https://mostbet-uz.top/account/, but for now, it’s worth studying the pre-match layouts.
Atalanta: The Path To The Final
In Italy, the top teams start in the Cup immediately from ⅛ in January, and the first opponent of the Bergamascos was another Serie A team – an outsider of the elite in the person of Sassuolo. The favoritism of the Gasperini team was clear from the very beginning, and there was no sensation – The hosts-favorites first scored three times, and only at the very end did they concede an optional (but no longer decisive) goal.
The quarterfinal opponent turned out to be much more difficult – they had to compete with Milan. The match turned out to be heated – Gasperini agreed to the point that he was removed from the bench. Atalanta conceded in the 45th minute, but managed to come back before the break, and after an hour of play, they scored a second and managed to maintain the winning score in a game where the natural result could have been a draw.
The Italian semi-finals are played over two legs, and in the first of them, Atalanta put themselves in an awkward position: The bookmakers did not select a favorite in the away match with Fiorentina, but it was the Violets who achieved a minimal victory. In the return game, it was necessary to win back, and the Bergamasques had already started in the 8th minute. At the beginning of the second half, the guests from Florence were sent off, but it was too early to bury them – they still managed to equalize in the minority half a time before the final whistle. However, this time was enough for the Gasperini gang to score three times – 4:2 on aggregate.
In total, Atalanta played four matches, all against Serie A teams, and only Sassuolo did not look too threatening). In these meetings, the Bergamasques scored 9 goals and conceded 4. It is noteworthy that the Bergamo club has conceded one goal in every cup match this season.
Juventus: Road To The Final
The Bianconeri also started with ⅛, and also, as an outsider in Serie A – they got Salernitana, who never earned the right to stay in the elite for another season. The modest guests, however, took advantage of the favorite’s relaxation and scored his debut goal in this cup competition in the first minute. This, however, only angered Juventus – the Turin team rolled the enemy into the turf, bringing the score to 6:1.
In the quarterfinals, Juventus faced Frosinone, another Serie A club that had been fighting for survival all season. Here the favorite played more disciplined in defense, and still did well in attack – we finished 4:0.
In the semi-finals, the Bianconeri’s luck ceased – they came up against an opponent of a noticeably higher level. Modern Lazio cannot be called a threat to authorities, but the team still took the scalp of their fellow countrymen from Roma in the quarterfinals and were unlikely to retreat easily. However, the first match in Turin gave the hosts a comfortable advantage – after the break, they scored twice and kept their goal locked. But by the beginning of the second half of the return match, the Romans managed to level the situation but were a little weak in defense: Milik, in the 83rd minute, set the final score in the game – 2:1, and in the confrontation – 2:3.
Juventus has the same 4 games, and also opponents only from Serie A, but only one of them was not a fighter for survival. For this reason, one should not draw bright conclusions from more impressive statistics – the Bianconeri’s opponents showed weaker resistance. It is not surprising that Massimiliano Allegri’s sharp team scored 13 goals against their opponents and conceded only 3.
The Situation In Other Tournaments
Atalanta is having a very active season with a huge number of matches – this is reflected in their successful performance in European competition. The Bergamascos are taking full advantage of their ticket to the Europa League, won as a result of the last Serie A – first, they won the group, leaving Sporting behind, and in the playoffs, they knocked out the same Lisbon team (an amazing draw) and Liverpool, which was considered the main favorite of the tournament. However, Gasperini’s team barely has enough strength on three fronts – it cannot reliably gain a foothold in the top 5 of the championship, and it certainly wants to play in the Champions League next season. Hence, the logical question: how will the team distribute forces?
For Juventus, from this point of view, it is much easier: the club did not play in the 23/24 European Cups at all, it is too late to chase the championship, and the Bianconeri do not fall out of the Champions League zone, especially considering that Italy was given five tickets for the next season. The path in the Cup also did not look particularly tiring – that is, there is strength, and at stake is the only trophy that can still be won.
Conclusion
All other things being equal, it would be difficult to predict the winner in this final match – both teams are very ambitious, and each is strong enough to justify their claims. However, there is a suspicion that right now, Juventus is in a much more advantageous position – it has a fresher squad, and most importantly, there are no other priorities other than winning this one match to lift the trophy.
For Atalanta, everything is much more complicated: the team is fighting on three fronts, the tournament task in the championship has not been solved, and the hypothetical final of the Europa League is also on the horizon. It is possible that the Bianconeri will give their all in this situation, and the Bergamascos, on the contrary, will save their strength for a breakthrough in Serie A and Europa League.