Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini says he was ‘satisfied’ with his sides 2-2 draw against Spezia, despite a poor first half performance. La Dea were 2-0 behind before turning it around in a second half that included a late equaliser from Mario Pasalic. Speaking to Sky Sport Italia after the game, Gasperini reflected on the mistakes his team made and why the early 2-0 scoreline didn’t truly reflect the game:
“We saw the spirit of those who believed in the result. If I look at the goals in the first half and the game I’m satisfied with how we conducted the match, despite the heavy mistakes. Spezia’s 2-0 scoreline did not reflect the game. Some things were preventing us from turning the game around, but in the end, Pasalic fortunately took care of it.
For me everything worked, except the goal. We occupied the pitch well but on the second goal we were fragile, but we conceded very little and attacked with quality, even if we shot badly. Even in the second half, the actions were always well prepared and we were not so capable”
Pasalic was asked about his performance and how the team turned things around in the second half:
“At least we didn’t lose it, but we always complicate matches with our own mistakes, we give away goals to the opponents. In the locker room we told ourselves that we could come back, one goal was enough to believe it. It’s hard to explain because we often start with little concentration, but in the end we always manage to turn things around, in the past we even won matches. I don’t know, we have to work on it.
Whether I play from the first or come in from the bench is not a problem, I am available. The World Cup was a great experience, but it’s already behind us and we have to put it behind us to think about Atalanta. Objectives? Let’s play match by match, let’s fight and then we’ll see”.
