The second mini tour de force of the season ends in the best possible way, with Atalanta’s win over Cagliari (7 matches in three weeks, 5 of which in the league and 2 in the Champions League). Gian Piero Gasperini couldn’t be more satisfied with his team performance: “The lads played well”. Here is the interview with the Nerazzurri coach.

Let’s start with something that will surely make you smile: this is your 200th victory in Serie A.

“Yes, they told me about it. I’m pleased with it. It’s nice. As I said before, every victory gives unique satisfaction. All wins were hard-fought, even those with a large margin of victory. All of them were thrilling. I didn’t know this was my 200th win, but this is a good record.”

Here is another statistical data: Atalanta had never won five out of six games played away.

“This is another good record, which should be put together with the 200 wins, as it’s a good path. Tonight’s game was not easy, for sure, as Cagliari are worth more than the last place on the table, but the lads played well. They recovered their energy after the game against Manchester United, and it wasn’t easy, as those games take away a lot of energy. Having one extra day to recover, compared to the usual three we have, has helped us a lot. However, the guys have a commendable ability to react. I owe them a lot, in this respect. I am sometimes forced to reprimand them and they always react in the best way. So, congrats to them, as we round off this tour de force of 7 games within 21 days in fourth place, despite the number of injuries we unfortunately had. They had to adapt and many of them had to play regularly, without taking a break. Well done to them. When we resume after the break, we’ll have a busy month where we’ll be playing for the UCL qualification and the closure of the first half of the season. A little break for me, at least, not for many of them. And then we’ll resume.”

You’ll have to reflect on how to make your team win at the Gewiss Stadium as well.

“I’ve been saying this lately. Playing at home should become a strength for us again. We were unlucky sometimes, even against Manchester United, as we contributed a bit to the first equaliser, but the second one was the masterstroke of a great player. There were some rebounds, though. We have to win, especially at home, if we want to stay in the top spots.”

However, in the meantime, you enjoy this fourth place.

“We are sitting fourth at the end of this tough run of games, both in the league and the Champions League, with great performances, as there were no poor displays. Congrats to the lads, then. We have perhaps scored a few points less. However, we should be satisfied with what we have done. We’ll get a few players back now, so, we’ll be able to have our say.”