The Bayer series will continue to go down in history. Somewhere between Øvrebø refereeing and Davids points
Grigory Telingater May 23, 2024, 02:00 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
It’s sad, because it was nothing short of an absolute miracle.
This is the end of the Bayer series. Almost in the last game of the season. All that remains is to play the German Cup against Kaiserslautern (13th team in the 2nd Bundesliga). Atalanta killed so much intrigue during the match that in added time the rival no longer had any chance.
With Lookman’s first goal, it seemed that Atalanta had prepared themselves, and Alonso’s team would clearly come back, as they have done so many times this season. After the second goal, doubts began to arise about Bayer’s invincibility. Well, the third goal cleared up all doubts. Judging by the players’ faces, even they understood it.
No miracle occurred. We will not remember Bayer as a team that went an entire season without losing. It’s a bit offensive even for those who don’t support the German team. I wanted to witness something unique. I highly doubt there will ever be a chance for anyone to have an undefeated season in all tournaments.
There is only one detail. This season will still go down in history. Even with such a stupid loss in the final. And the question is not how many games they accumulate without losing (in any case, 51 games). The fact is that even the interrupted series turned out to be not just an event, but a phenomenon. What will we remember about European football, apart from the results, in 10 or 20 years? Pig’s head for Figo, Övrebo refereeing, Davids points. And somewhere nearby is Bayer’s unbeaten streak.
There has been a lot of sad news in football lately. On Saturday, fans said goodbye to Royce. Sunday – with Klopp. Now another sad event for the football romantics who believed in Bayer. On the other hand, Atalanta took the title. It is rare to see a team run like that throughout the game and Palacios stay there at a key moment. He forgot to turn around and scan the space behind him, and Lukman ran out and hit the winning ball.
In a sense, Italy needed this title more. This country could become the first to delegate six teams at the same time to the Champions League. It is true that for this Atalanta needs to remain fifth in Serie A. The situation with these tickets for the Champions League is quite confusing. If the winner of the League (or Champions League) falls within a country’s basic quota (top 4 in major leagues), then the ticket is not doubled. This was the case a year ago for City, whose victory did not help Liverpool. But the bonuses for the two best countries in the season rankings (Italy and Germany) do not expire. If Atalanta remains fifth in the championship, the first four will advance by the base quota, the fifth team by the victory in the European Cup and the sixth team by the Italian qualification.
Italian Championship Table
True, so far the table looks more like Atalanta will jump to the top 4, and then only the first five teams in the Championship will go to the Champions League. In this case, the ticket given to the winner of the League of Legends will go to Benfica. The second Portuguese team will not go to the Champions League qualification, but directly to the main stage of the Champions League. This would have happened if Bayer had taken the trophy.
But Gasperini hardly wants to remember this:
The main failure in the career of the Atalanta coach. Few people remember Gasperini’s work in the best club.
