It’s the eve of the second leg of the UEFA Europa League knockout play-offs between Olympiacos and Atalanta. The Nerazzurri arrived in Greece after training at the Centro Bortolotti. Gian Piero Gasperini met the press at the Karaiskaki Stadium. Here’s his one-to-one interview: “We must play well”.

Gian Piero Gasperini, Atalanta are still in a moment of emergency but this team goes beyond the emergency.

“Yes, absolutely. We still have matches to play, which are really important. We need to focus on how to play one game at a time properly. Tomorrow’s match will be important because it’s decisive for qualification in a competition that is very prestigious.”

You expressed a favourable opinion about the removal of the away goals rule, and you’ll have to get a win or a draw tomorrow to go through.

“Yes, this is a small advantage. However, we’ll have to fight hard to qualify, as Olympiacos are a worthy team in their country. The international matches are always more difficult, though.”

What type of Olympiacos do you expect to see? Will it be different compared to the first leg?

“It’s clear that the opening goal in the first leg changed our game strategy a bit, but that match gave us the feeling that we could do well. The advantage is minimal. They are a flexible team that can try different set-ups, hence it could be a different game tomorrow.”

The Greeks count a lot on their fans’ support, who return to the stadium for the occasion as it’s at a 50% capacity. However, Atalanta are used to playing away games in packed stadiums.

“Yes, the atmosphere here is undoubtedly heated, we’re aware of that. It’s a beautiful stadium, even the pitch… the fans can certainly play a role. But all in all, after visiting a lot of empty stadiums, we all hoped to finally be able to play in front of a crowd again.”

What kind of Atalanta will we see instead?

“Atalanta must pull together right now, play good football, play well technically. It’s clear we have a serious emergency in the attack. We miss four players, which is a lot. However, we have features that can help us make up for it in a different way and help us decide how to best approach this game.”