Player Analysis: Matteo Pessina

Matteo Pessina is not one of the most conventional midfielders in Italian football. A much-traveled player already in his short career so far, he is not a footballer that has settled into one role throughout his career. Despite that, the 23-year-old is starting to emerge as one of Serie A’s most intriguing midfielders.

After an impressive loan spell at Hellas Verona during the 2019/20 campaign, Pessina has returned to Atalanta and he has started to fit in at La Dea, while Coach Gian Piero Gasperini has utilized him in a number of roles. At the Gialloblu under the tutelage of Gasperini protégé Ivan Jurić, the Italian midfielder scored seven goals in 35 Serie A matches as left attacking midfielder in the 3-4-2-1 formation. 

Pessina has scored three times in 22 competitive games in 2020/21 for Atalanta but his role in some matches has limited his chances of making late runs into the penalty area to score goals. His ability to score goals from deep positions is not a recent phenomenon either.

Coming through the youth ranks at his native Monza, he scored three goals 20 Lega Pro Girone A matches and then scored another three in two play-out matches against Pordenone in his first senior campaign of 2014/15.