Atalanta’s match against Manchester United, who were forced to bounce back twice, ends 2-2. The Nerazzurri are disappointed, Atalanta would have deserved to win. Here’s how José Luis Palomino and Josip Iličić, who scored the opener, comment on the match.

Here is the interview with José Luis Palomino:

José, what a pity! It’s such a pity to miss the opportunity to win at the very last moment!

“Yes, it was a bittersweet game, wasn’t it? Because we did great against such a team as Manchester. It’s a pity we didn’t manage to keep that result till the end. We conceded a goal when there was little time left till the end of the first half, then at the end of the match. Mathematically, we still have chances. We believe till the very end, as we always do. We’ll fight. That’s it. I’m happy because we delivered a great display. Of course, I’m not happy with the points we got. But in general, I’m optimistic.”

What was lacking? Did you lack a bit of anger?

“Yes. We weren’t angry enough. Especially, when they attack and attack and attack. We weren’t alert enough either. We should have maintained the intensity of the attack. We already had a chance to do some things better we had to improve. We’ll work on it.”

Now, in the Champions League, you play against Young Boys in Bern. And then the great final clash against Villarreal. You’ll play the final matches against these two teams. Especially, it may be difficult against Villarreal here, in Bergamo.

“Yes. These will be two very important matches. It’s not worth it if you don’t have to struggle. But it’s true that we have to rest now and focus on the League because we want to stay in the top spots of the table. We face an important team, Cagliari who are not doing well. There will surely be an unfriendly atmosphere, so to say. When we play the next Champions League away match, we’ll do our best to get the points because we know, at this point, we have to get full points if we want to continue our journey in this competition.”

And here’s Josip Iličić’s reaction to the game:

Josip, what a pity you didn’t win this match that you absolutely deserved to win.

“It happened the same thing as in Manchester. But it’s football. We have to learn a lot.”

You should be a bit more cynical.

“Especially, in the final minutes when you feel a bit tired. Maybe, in the first half, we already thought that we had killed the match off. It’s football, though. We played against a great team that took advantage of each chance. We must keep our heads high, though, and be aware of having given a great performance against a great team. And we are also among all these great teams. We are aware of it. These are the results. But they are not enough. We have to give a bit more.”

Josip, you can be satisfied with your goal, though.

“I play for the team. It’s good for me, personally. But I’m disappointed with the result. I’d rather not have scored and I’d rather have got a result. But, unfortunately, it happened so. I’m especially happy with what we proved, and that we put our heart into it today. It’s the most important thing. But I have to say that it has to be us one day because we conceded goals at the end of too many matches.”