Atalanta won the match at the Dall’Ara thanks to a goal from debutant Moustapha Cissé and scored three important points in the league. All the team showed great determination and eagerness. As assistant coach Tullio Gritti claimed: “We never give up”.
Tullio Gritti, Atalanta kept on believing until the end and gave it their all on the pitch, perhaps even more, and the win arrived.
“It’s in our DNA, we never give up and perhaps also struggle at certain moments in the game. However, we never believe we can’t do it. The play that led to the goal was excellent indeed. And even later on, we could have used better some of the spaces that opened up. The matches change during the 90 minutes. In the beginning, we did very well and that lasted until half-time. Then Bologna started trying to create more chances and opened up a bit. But that’s when our defensive display came out, which is excellent at this time. We never give up. There might be some errors, which is fair enough, but tonight was the proof that we fought hard until the 90th minute and we brought it home.”
It was a wonderful goal scored by 18-year-old Cisse, who made his senior team debut, debuted in Serie A and also scored his first goal.
“Yes. Besides his great football skills, he’s an extraordinary guy, as he showed up in Bergamo and then trained with us. He’s extremely polite, his politeness is an example despite life hasn’t been kind to him. Yet, he’s a wonderful person, who is eager to learn. He has some great skills. He’s already scored a goal like a champion. Between him and Muriel, Muriel could have also scored it. He controlled and then fired. So, he has great quality, and the coach did well to call him up and make him play.”
Moreover, Atalanta gave the opportunity to two 18-year-old boys to play against Bologna.
“Yes, it’s in Atalanta’s history. The club has always believed in its academy. It’s been so for five-six years, thanks to the President, who chose a coach like Gasperini. This coach doesn’t have problems throwing on players who have quality, value and a clear head. People say there aren’t young talents in Italy. We actually have them, if you dare to play them. And the coach surely dares.”
The break has come. Everyone’s calmed down. The team have qualified for the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals, claimed a win at Bologna. Now it’s time for the international break to catch the breath and to set off for the final sprint.
“Yes, when a break is coming, winning the match before it is the best thing in the world because you work for two weeks without heavy thoughts and with joy, the thing that we do quite often. We know that, starting with the match against Napoli, our first fixture [after the break], then the Europa League quarter-finals, it will be a sprint ending at the end of May. Let’s say, Atalanta, over these five-six years, in the last 10-12 matches, have always been a “road-roller”, I think the team can do it this year, too.”