Tribal Football

Atalanta coach Gasperini: A historic result in the club's history

Atalanta coach Gasperini: A historic result in the club's history
Atalanta coach Gasperini: A historic result in the club's historyFlashscore
La Dea won the first-leg of their Europa League quarterfinal thanks to Mario Pasalic and Gianluca Scamacca's brace.

Thank you, it is a remarkable and extraordinary result for Atalanta's history, for all the fans who came to Liverpool with such passion, for the club that was represented in the stands," Gasperini told Sky Italia.

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For us to play a Europa League quarter-final at Anfield makes us very proud and getting this result is something that will remain. You don't always manage to win trophies, but when you can make history for a club like ours, that is worth a lot too.

"This is why we are so happy, we played in an historic stadium that is famous all over Europe. We had won here a few years ago, also in Liverpool against Everton, but when we went to Anfield last time it was without fans. This is a completely different sensation. It is wonderful to see how happy the fans were and that is the greatest satisfaction.

Playing together for a long time, we have certain reference points that we can look to. We lost Kolasinac yesterday and that forced us to put De Roon in defence, but I knew that Pasalic was in great shape. What we missed were options to change in midfield, but what we did better compared to previous matches was the courage, the desire to attack them and be aggressive.

We were also very precise in defence and hardly ever let them come through. We knew it was risky, but if you let Liverpool consistently attack you, they will score eventually. If you put them under pressure, you can create chances and keep them busy."

On the second-leg, Gasperini added: Obviously, we are happy with the 3-0 win and it is a good cushion, but Liverpool are an extraordinary team who can score at any moment. In the second leg we need to defend the same way we did, but also attack them the same way too. I don't know if we'll be able to create as many chances as we had tonight, but we have to try, because there is no halfway approach with Liverpool. Once they start attacking and scoring goals, they don't stop.

I still remember the incredible Champions League Final when Milan were 3-0 up, there seemed to be an abyss between the two teams, but in six minutes they got it back to 3-3. It seemed impossible. That is the spirit of Liverpool, they don't give up. So in order to go forward, we will have to repeat ourselves."