In the first round of the Champions League home match against Arsenal, Atalanta shook hands with their opponents with a score of 0-0. After the match, Atalanta manager Gasperini was interviewed by Sky Sport Italia and gave an in-depth analysis and review of the match.
On Rettger's penalty kick
Gasperini expressed regret that Retegui failed to convert the penalty into a goal. He felt that the penalty was a great scoring opportunity and if Atalanta had been able to take the lead, the outcome of the game could have been very different. Nonetheless, Gasperini spoke highly of Retegui's overall performance, saying that he played a very good game and showed strong fighting spirit. He believes that if Retegui is able to score a goal, it will be the best reward for his hard work.
Post-game exchange with Arteta
Gasperini revealed that he and Arsenal manager Arteta sent each other congratulations after the game. He expressed his admiration for Arsenal as a united and strong team that is hard to beat. Gasperini said that Atalanta will learn from this match and look to get better in future matches. He believes that through this match, Atlanta will learn some valuable things and be able to cope with similar types of teams in the future.
Thoughts on defense and forward play
Gasperini expressed his satisfaction with Atlanta's defensive performance and emphasized the team's spirit on the defensive end. He mentioned that in the past few games, Atlanta didn't put too many forwards involved in the defensive work, but today they did a good job in this aspect. Gasperini believes that if the forwards can be more involved in the defense, then the team will have more options and opportunities on the offensive end. However, he also admitted that the team had some difficulties with set pieces, which is something they need to improve on.
Evaluation of Edson Silva and De Jongen
Gasperini gave credit to Ederson Silva and De Jongen for their performances. He felt that Edusson was more impressive in the second half than the first and played to his trademark strengths. He was also satisfied with De Jongen's performance in terms of confrontation and quality of play. Gasperini said that he was satisfied with the overall performance of both players, although there is still room for improvement in the team's ability to organize attacks from the back. He believes that by playing these types of high-level matches, Atlanta's players will continue to grow and improve.
