Another Fairytale Season for Atalanta Thanks to the Brilliance of Josip Iličić - Season Highlights

It used to be a popular thought that Atalanta were destined to fall away into mid-table, even if they started a Serie A season on a winning run.

Yet with every passing season since Gian Piero Gasperini took over in 2016, La Dea appear to get better and better, scaling new heights in domestic and European football.

And the 2019/20 campaign has been no different, as they continue to hold their ground in the top-four of Italy's top-flight, while also progressing to the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in their history.

Given that the club only spent €33.7m on three players in the summer, having made €57m in player sales, this is a rather remarkable achievement.

And it's even more remarkable when you consider the fact that they didn't make a great start in Europe's top club competition either, notably losing badly to both Dinamo Zagreb and Manchester City. It just seemed as if the occasion of playing on Europe's top stage had possibly got to them.

But by now, Gasperini had more than earned the trust of Atalanta's supporters, and his players believed they could turn it around. And against the odds, they did.

It was unfair to have considered this team a goner in the group, considering their league form was still excellent. By the time of their final Champions League group game against Shakhtar Donetsk, Gasperini's side had only lost three league games, and continued to score freely, including putting seven past Udinese. Poor Torino and Lecce would get the exact same treatment later on in the season.

But regardless of what people had thought about their chances, they did the impossible in progressing from defeats in all of their three opening games in Europe. And to celebrate, they proceeded to smack five past Milan, before returning from Christmas with another 5-0 stuffing, this time of Parma.

And of course, many know of their incredible round-of-16 tie with Valencia in February, where La Dea played with no fear and stuck to their guns, scoring whenever they could. In this case, it was four goals in both legs that did the trick, and got them through into the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.

So what has stood out about this team this season? How have they continued to score freely in Serie A and continue their ascent in Europe?

Tactically, they remain a joy to watch in attack, with the movement and fluidity from the runs made by the likes of Duván Zapata making the side a constant threat. The positioning of the wing-backs in Robin Gosens and Hans Hateboer stretch the pitch wide enough to create space for the likes of Papu Gómez.

At the other end, they're still solid defensively, with their pressing style still causing teams problems on the ball. Their use of man-to-man marking is superb and they continue to force turnovers through the superior numbers they have centrally at the back.

So if tactically they're still similar to seasons before - what else could explain their fantastic season? Simply, the answer is the outstanding form of Josip Iličić.

While the Slovenian has always been a key figure for Gli Orobici, he's definitely gone up a level this season. His attacking output has been outstanding with 21 goals and nine assists in all competitions, and he finally looks to be the consistent offensive threat that he's always promised to be.

He's easily been one of Serie A's best players this season, and at 32 years old seems to be playing the best football of his life. And it's his creativity and intelligence in the final third that have helped his side immensely in continuing to outscore the opposition with ease - which is essentially the mantra of this Atalanta team.

His brilliance, together with the Bergamo club's European success and continued goal-scoring sprees in Serie A, have made the 2019/20 campaign a memorable one for fans of La Dea. Here's hoping they can climb to even greater heights when football re-commences.