It is the 4th minute of Atalanta v Real Madrid in the Champions League (December 10, 2024) Sead Kolašinac (no 23), the left-centre-back in the 3-4-3 of Atalanta, is for a few moments the most advanced player of his team.
To quote the TV commentator on TNT Sports 1: ‘Here is Atalanta summed-up with Kolašinac… He decided ”I’ll be the centre-forward for a moment”’.
For clarity, here is how the two teams lined-up:
So the left-centre-back was for a few moments the most advanced player of the team. Now ain’t that a thing of beauty?
Fast-forward to the 46th minute.
Starting from his left-centre-back position, Kolašinac passes the ball to Pašalić (no 8) and makes his run forward. He receives the ball back from Pašalić ending up in the box in a dangerous position, where he is fouled by Tchouaméni.
What Kolašinac did is not by chance. Gasperini is a unique coach and the way Atalanta plays deserves an in-depth analysis. The way the two outside centre-backs play is one of the trademarks of the team. In a 3-4-3 system with a pair of midfielders playing in front of the defense the outside centre-backs are allowed, and even encouraged, to make forward runs. For sure, this requires players with certain qualities. As we can see, when done right, this tactic can break a defense.