Atalanta were close and could have really got back home from Old Trafford with a different result and would have deserved it. They lost Merih Demiral to injury and the Turkish defender had also scored the Nerazzurri’s second goal (the first one was scored by Mario Pašalić). Here is how coach Gian Piero Gasperini comments on the match: “We paid for the final minutes”.

Gian Piero Gasperini, can you comment on this match? Or is the disappointment too much?

“There is a lot of bitterness because of the result, as, even in this kind of emergency situation, we managed to come really close to winning it.”

Kind of? I’d say this is a full emergency.

“I agree.”

No matter how well the substitutes performed.

“Those who featured played impressively. We paid for the final minutes. A lot of teams pay the price for playing on this pitch. They found a way to make it 2-1 and that fired the environment up again, despite looking a bit dozy. That’s when a new match started, they threw a lot of strikers on. But we knew it could happen in the final minutes. We didn’t manage to score the third goal, otherwise, we would have finished it off. We should have also held out a bit more on those crosses, we needed a bit more physicality where they found those goals that allowed them to win.”

You also had to sub Demiral off, who also picked up an injury. He was playing well.

“Yes, especially in the aerial game, he was very important to us. But I also have to compliment the players, as, of course, we’re all disappointed with the defeat, but playing in this environment and with this character, getting so close to the win… deserves big credit.”

Atalanta are there, you did concede but also held out well, you can have your say and can fit in this group. Everything’s still to play for, as there are three games left.

“Yes, of course. In 15-20 days, we’ll have the second leg at home, and it’ll be another kind of match, in which we’ll have to be very careful because they’re very dangerous when spaces open up. However, if we had the chance to go close here, then we have to be confident and think that we can win the second leg. Anyways, who qualifies will be decided later on, but you need to score points in every game.”