Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini was left delighted with their 5-2 victory over Spezia.

M'Bala Nzola put Spezia ahead before La Dea stormed back, Mario Pasalic scoring twice before Duvan Zapata (penalty), Luis Muriel and Ruslan Malinovskyi also on the scoresheet before Nzola netted again.

"Pasalic is going through a great period of form, he was decisive today with both assists and goals. Ruslan Malinovskyi and Luis Muriel came off the bench with the right attitude, but this was certainly not an easy game," Gasperini told DAZN.

“We lowered the tempo too much in the second half, gifting possession to Spezia, a side who know how to build play out from the back. It was good considering this was our first game back after international duty, but some were a little tired at the end.

“Everyone knows how important Muriel is to us. We're in a good period of form, it's a very tough run of fixtures coming up, but we go into it in good shape."