Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini says the only feasible trophy for the club this season is the Coppa Italia, following their 3-0 win over Sassuolo. Goals from Mario Pasalic, Teun Koopmeiners, and Mitchel Bakker made it five wins in a row for the Nerazzurri, who now have 45 points in the standings. At the end of the match, Gasperini spoke to Sky Sport Italia about the performance, the momentum of his team and the rough run of games that await them in the final stage of the season:
“We ran some risks, like the penalty. The least beautiful thing was the 25 minutes after our first goal, we almost stopped. The second half was very good, we attacked well, and it was a fair result.”
Regarding the team’s growth: “I knew I had a solid team in defense and midfield, with competitive players. Kolasinac has given us additional strength in defense. Then we have grown on the wings but above all in attack. De Ketelaere, Scamacca, Miranchuk, Lookman: we have the potential to be competitive.”
Now Atalanta is preparing for a tough run of games: “7 matches in 22 days, it happens when there are cup competitions. They have scheduled this recovery that we could have done without at this time. I will meet 6 of the top 9 teams, all in a row one after the other. In between, there’s also the Europa League where we won’t know who the opponent will be. It will be challenging, but we have almost the entire squad available. I hope it stays that way.”
Are the Nerazzurri favorites in the Europa League as Pioli says? “I thank him. There are also many other teams, from the quarter-finals, it almost seems like the Champions League.”
Regarding Atalanta’s squad: “It is very complete, even though in the past we had Zapata, Ilicic, and Muriel. This year we are more complete in all departments. Scudetto? I don’t know what we might be lacking. You need around 90 points to win it, we usually travel around 78 points. For Atalanta, the only feasible cup is the Coppa Italia. We sell our best pieces to start over, we don’t strengthen.”
