Dmitry Alenichev scored in Porto’s victories in the Champions League and UEFA Cup finals. Alexander Kerzhakov came on as a substitute in the UEFA Cup final as his Sevilla side beat Espanyol on penalties. And now it’s Alexey Miranchuk’s turn. He didn’t play in the final. Atalanta crushed Bayer without him. But this title is Miranchuk’s merit no less than that of other Atalanta players.
The Russian football audience is very specific. She has no midtones. Either a hero or a loser. Either a key player and a superstar, or a mediocrity who cleans the bench in his leather pants. This type of categorization, by the way, periodically occurs among Russian footballers. Sometimes they say something like “I dream of playing in Europe, but of course I won’t go to intermediate teams.” That is, either Real or Manchester City, or nothing.
What does Miranchuk have to do with this? The final whistle has not yet sounded in the Europa League final, but the Internet is already talking: yes, it is in Atalanta – “bring it, give it to me”, there it is of no use, it sits on the “bench” everything By the way, what type of Europa League is he? He has nothing to do with her!
It was great
Invincible Bayer: that’s it! Atalanta and Miranchuk took the Europa League!
Miranchuk is not the leader of Atalanta, that is obvious. He never became a key player for Gian Piero Gasperini. But it is also obvious that Alexey is an important player in the team. He is not a leader or a superstar. But he is definitely not a loser or mediocrity. Atalanta’s success this season is partly due to him.
Miranchuk started playing more when Ademola Lookman left for the African Cup. You’re lucky? In part, of course. But! When the opportunity presented itself, Alexey was ready. He grabbed it with his teeth, the same way Atalanta grabbed Bayer.
The injection in the form of Miranchuk added freshness to Atalanta. In attack, a new idea appeared: Gasperini began to play without a center forward. Miranchuk, De Ketelare and Kopmeyners began to appear in the offensive trio: footballers care much more about combinations than about strength and speed. Atalanta became more unpredictable; there was a momentum that hadn’t been seen in the previous season and a half.
Alexey Miranchuk
Photo: Getty Images
Furthermore, competition has increased. Gianluca Scamacca realized the same thing: no matter how much they paid for him, he won’t play if he doesn’t start working. And he looks at Scamacca in the second part of the season! “A completely different person!”
Miranchuk helped Atalanta a lot between 2023 and 2024. He not only replaced Lookman: with him, Gasperini got a new option in attack. He worked so well that even when the Nigerian returned, Atalanta continued to play without him for some time.
Why did Lookman end up returning to the team? Firstly, when he retired after the African Cup, he was in excellent shape. This, in particular, emerges from the Europa League final. Secondly, Miranchuk simply lost the distance competition, it must be admitted. Lukman highlighted his strengths more than Alexey. And the end of the season showed that the Nigerian’s return to the starting eleven was absolutely the right decision.
First hat-trick in LE history in the final:
The Europa League final gave birth to a new star. What kind of Lookman destroyed Bayer?
However, Miranchuk is Atalanta’s best assistant this season. At a key moment in the championship, when Lookman left, Alexey helped Atalanta not to fall out of the fight for the Champions League zone, although there were prerequisites for this. In Serie A he played strong against Roma (assist), Napoli (goal + assist), Genoa (two assists) and Lazio (only one very high quality match).
It is possible that Atalanta would not have reached the Italian Cup final if it were not for Miranchuk’s great performance against Sassuolo (goal+assist) and Milan (assist). And in the Europa League, Alexey played a key role in the victory over Sporting in the round of 16. An away assist and two home goals, and Atalanta won 3-2 on aggregate.
Have you already forgotten? We will remind you!
Miranchuk played the best game of the season against the Italian champion! And he returned Atalanta to the race for the Champions League
Against Liverpool in the quarter-finals, other players performed spectacularly. The semi-final against Marseille was easy for Atalanta: 4-1 on aggregate. But in the first match, in France, we tied 1:1. However, Atalanta could have won there too. Miranchuk entered the field at the end of the match and almost scored the winning goal: the ball flew inches from the goal.
It’s sad that Alexey never became the leader of Atalanta. They gave him enough opportunities. Apparently, Miranchuk will never be a key player for this coach. But this in no way negates the good that Alexei did for Atalanta. Especially this season.
So Miranchuk, with the victory in the Europa League and with the achievement of a place in the Champions League! He was not the main figure in these successes. But he actively participated in them, and this should not be devalued.
