The Nerazzurri came back from behind and won in the difficult away fixture at Hellas Verona. Atalanta’s coach Gian Piero Gasperini couldn’t be more satisfied, as this victory proves that the setback suffered against Villarreal left no traces: “A very helpful win”.
Gian Piero Gasperini, how important is this win?
“This victory is extremely satisfying. It also gives us great awareness, as winning today, against this team, by turning it around on this pitch, is tough for everybody. We did it by showing willingness, quality and determination, proving to be a team that wants to be one of the protagonists.”
It didn’t look like you played on Thursday.
“No, that’s because we rotated a lot of players and because we’re doing well. Time to recover wasn’t a problem, Having lost on Thursday, I thought it would boost our adrenaline. On the contrary, we were a bit off in the opening minutes compared to them. Then we got through it [and won]. This win will be very useful for our path.”
Was it a bit of mental fatigue? You had to go to the Gewiss Stadium on Wednesday and the game was put off. Then you had to return on Thursday. It wasn’t that easy.
“Objectively not. We got out of those two days being all disappointed for failing to qualify, which was within our grasp. We were aware of that. However, we’re also aware that we delivered a good performance. Thursday’s match against Villarreal brought us awareness, not doubts. Football is also made of this: in a streak of 10 games, one match can go like this, but we’re doing well and we took a step forward today.”
Speaking of streaks, out of 9 away games, you have won 8 and drawn 1, but, above all, you have claimed 6 away victories in a row for the first time in your history.
“We won in Turin against Juve, we won in Naples, we won at difficult grounds. And today’s pitch was also tough to play on. Verona had only won here, perhaps claiming just one draw. Moreover, they’re a good team, they’re great. They cause difficulties, and we had them too. Then we were able to overcome them, and we did it well.”
Is now the focus turning to the draw or Roma?
“I’m focusing on Roma. The draw is unpredictable. We’ll think about the Europa League in February. We still have two games before Christmas. It seems to me that we have set a record for points in the first half of the season and we still have two games to play. We have Roma, then Genoa. Then we’ll resume with Torino. Then I don’t know how the fixture list continues because it has been completely changed and I still haven’t figured out how the second round works. I have to read it again because I don’t remember. Then we’ll have the Coppa Italia and the Europa League, but we can play in every competition without alibis. We can play in every tournament, we have the squad and the potential to seek the best from ourselves in every game.”