Atalanta BC – Olympique Marseille: Atalanta Ascend Closer To The Mountaintop (3-0)

No one can rush the divinities. Their ways are higher than humanity's. The goddess has blessed a blue and black collective in the north of Italy with greater gifts during the past. However, this might finally turn out to be the year when her smile signals silverware the way of their cabinet.

Tactical analysis and match report by Emmanuel Adeyemi-Abere.

Gian Piero Gasperini gains more reverence with each year. Five Serie A seats for Champions League football allow Atalanta to aspire to a return to the tournament for the first time in three years. Sitting in fifth position in the top tier and just four points off fourth placed Bologna, a dying dream is still alive. Continental conquest is already on the agenda. No Italian club has claimed the Europa League in its current guise. Only ninety minutes were on their way to the first final in their history in Europe.

Marseille's management has been much more muddled. In the last nine months, they have undergone two sackings and three installations of new leaders. The latest was in February when Gennaro Gattuso gave way for Jean-Louis Gasset. It has not been a panacea for their problems. Their record on the road is the joint worst . . .