Atalanta’s Coach Admits He Was Confident in Advancing to the Semifinals

DBasia.news – Atalanta’s drama in the 2019-2020 Champions League ended tragically as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) had to proceed to the quarter-finals, Thursday (13/8). The coach, Gian Piero Gasperini, felt quite disappointed because he was very confident that he could advance to the semifinals.

Atalanta looked like they were going to stroll into the final because until the 90^th minute they were still leading with a score of 1-0. Mario Pasalic gave the Nerazzurri the lead in the 27^th minute.

Gasperini did not deny that he thought like that. Therefore he was very disappointed because PSG made a comeback and scored two quick goals in injury time to turn the position to 2-1 for the French club.

“We are very disappointed, because we feel almost reaching the semifinals. The biggest regret is that we are getting closer and think maybe we will achieve this extraordinary achievement.” said Gasperini to Sky Sport Italia.

“It’s disappointing because we were so close (to the semi-finals). There are some of the best players in the world, Mbappe and Neymar, who at some point brought them to life.”

Atalanta’s game did decline in the second half. PSG dominated the match and bombarded their defense.

The two goals scored by PSG through Marquinhos and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting could not be separated from the fatigue experienced by Atalanta defenders. This is certainly a valuable lesson for Atalanta, who have only appeared in the Champions League once.

Even so, Gasperini didn’t want to dwell too long in grief. He chose to think positively and fix the shortcomings of his team which next season will return to appear in the Champions League.

“The feeling of satisfaction is still there, that we are having a great Champions League season, constantly improving against the best teams in Europe. I can only thank the players for what they did this season,” he concluded.