Football isn't always about the goals. Sometimes, it is about the agonizing, sweat-soaked frustration of a team that does everything right except put the ball in the net.
If you watched the Atalanta vs. Slavia Praga match on October 22, 2025, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
It was a chilly night at the New Balance Arena in Bergamo. On paper, Atalanta were the heavy favorites. They were playing at home, they had the momentum from a win against Club Brugge, and let's be real—Serie A pedigree usually trumps the Czech First League when the Champions League lights come on. But Jindřich Trpišovský had other ideas.
The match ended 0-0.
A "boring" scoreline to a casual observer, sure. But for anyone tracking the tactical chess match between Ivan Jurić and Trpišovský, it was a fascinating study in defensive resilience versus attacking volume. Atalanta threw the kitchen sink at the visitors. They finished with 22 total shots. 22!
And yet, nothing.
The Tactical Wall: Why Slavia Praga Refused to Break
Basically, Slavia Praga turned into a human fortress. They didn't just park the bus; they welded it to the goalposts. Jakub Markovič, the Slavia keeper, had the game of his life. He made five massive saves, including a couple of reflexive stops that honestly had the Bergamo crowd silenced in disbelief.
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Trpišovský set his team up in a flexible 3-4-2-1 that often looked like a 5-4-1 when Atalanta pushed high. They weren't interested in a shootout. They knew that if they gave Ademola Lookman or Charles De Ketelaere an inch of grass, it was game over.
Instead, they kept the central zones incredibly congested.
David Zima and Jan Bořil were monsters in the air and on the ground. They forced Atalanta to play wide, daring them to send in crosses that the Slavia giants could just head away all night. It worked. Atalanta had 56% of the ball, but they were often passing it in a big, useless U-shape around the penalty area.
Key Stats From the Match:
- Total Shots: Atalanta 22, Slavia Praga 16
- Expected Goals (xG): Atalanta 2.04, Slavia Praga 0.73
- Big Saves: Jakub Markovič (Slavia) 5
- Possession: 56% - 44% in favor of La Dea
What’s wild is that even with all that pressure, Slavia weren't completely toothless. They actually managed 16 shots of their own, mostly on the break. They weren't just sitting there taking punches; they were trying to land a lucky haymaker.
Atalanta’s Creative Crisis in the Final Third
For Ivan Jurić, this Atalanta vs. Slavia Praga result was a massive headache.
He’s been trying to mold this team into something more disciplined than the chaotic, high-scoring era of Gasperini, but sometimes you miss that old chaos. The 3-4-3 they used looked organized, but it lacked that "spark."
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Lazar Samardžić tried to pull the strings. Lookman tried to isolate defenders. But the synergy wasn't there.
Lookman, who is usually the guy who finds a way, struggled to shake off the double-teams. Every time he touched the ball, two Slavia jerseys were there to greet him. By the time Jurić started making subs in the 60th minute—bringing on the likes of Nikola Krstović and Kamaldeen Sulemana—the Czech side had already found their rhythm.
They were comfortable in their suffering.
The Tension in the Final Minutes
The end of the game was pure chaos. Not the "beautiful football" kind, but the "everyone is angry and tired" kind.
In the 94th minute, things boiled over. Berat Djimsiti and Slavia’s Erik Prekop got into a heated argument that turned into a shoving match. The referee, Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea, had seen enough and booked both of them. It was a fitting end to a night where both teams felt they deserved something more—or at least felt the other team didn't deserve to win.
Honestly, a draw was probably fair if you value defensive organization, but Atalanta will look at that xG of 2.04 and wonder how they didn't walk away with three points.
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What This Means for the Champions League Table
This result left Atalanta in 17th place in the league phase with four points. It's not a disaster, but it puts them in a spot where they can't afford many more slip-ups, especially with tougher fixtures against teams like Athletic Club and Real Madrid looming.
For Slavia, this was a historic "win" of sorts.
They haven't won a Champions League game since 2007. I know, that sounds crazy for a club of their size, but the continental step-up is brutal. A 0-0 draw in Bergamo against a team like Atalanta is a result they'll talk about for a long time in Prague. It proved they belong in this new league format.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Bettors
If you’re following either of these teams for the rest of the 2025/2026 season, keep these points in mind:
- Atalanta’s Home Strength: Despite the draw, they are still incredibly hard to beat at the New Balance Arena. They've only lost one of their last eight home games in UEFA competitions.
- Slavia’s Italian Curse: This draw actually broke a terrible streak. Before this, they had lost 9 out of 10 trips to Italy. They’ve finally figured out how to travel.
- The Markovič Factor: Keep an eye on Jakub Markovič. If he continues this form, bigger clubs in Europe are going to start circling the 24-year-old keeper very soon.
- Set Piece Reliance: Atalanta are getting a huge chunk of their chances from dead-ball situations. If they don't start scoring more from open play, they will struggle against elite defensive blocks.
If you want to track how these teams progress, the next big dates are January 21, 2026, when Atalanta faces Athletic Club, and Slavia Praga hosts Barcelona. Both will be massive tests for the defensive strategies we saw in this match.