Gian Piero Gasperini hailed Atalanta for an “extraordinary” 2-1 win away to Roma when down to 10 men. The lads have great belief in themselves.”
The victory came just days after knocking Napoli out of the Coppa Italia Quarter-Finals with a 2-1 away result.
“Clearly it was a game of two halves, as we dominated the first half and in the second were forced to defend when down to 10 men,” the Coach told Mediaset Premium.
Gian Piero Gasperini hailed Atalanta for an “extraordinary” 2-1 win away to Roma when down to 10 men. The lads have great belief in themselves.”
The victory came just days after knocking Napoli out of the Coppa Italia Quarter-Finals with a 2-1 away result.
“Clearly it was a game of two halves, as we dominated the first half and in the second were forced to defend when down to 10 men,” the Coach told Mediaset Premium.
“At this moment, the lads have character, good fitness and great belief in themselves. They absolutely wanted to follow up the Coppa Italia victory over Napoli and we achieved an extraordinary result.
“There have been real shows of maturity and conviction in our own capabilities. We respect all our opponents, but also know that if the game goes in a certain direction, we can get the result with our determination and technique.
“If we can start to pick up the points we deserve at home and against smaller sides too, then we can really put ourselves in a good situation.”
Gasperini surprised by choosing Andreas Cornelius in attack, but the Dane got the opening goal by curling around Federico Fazio.
“Cornelius is a player with pace, he is left-footed and has a great shot when he cuts inside, not to mention strong physicality. We all know Papu Gomez, while Josip Ilicic attacks the space and has marvellous technique. That’s why I made these choices this evening.”
There was controversy when Marten De Roon received a second yellow card just before the break, a decision that got Gasp sent off for dissent.
“I won’t get into the red card situation, because I already heard some comments. Kolarov winked at his teammates afterwards, what do you think that meant?”