Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini emphasized his team’s determined intent to challenge Inter during their upcoming fixture at San Siro on Wednesday evening.
La Dea has demonstrated formidable performance under the guidance of the seasoned Italian tactician in recent weeks, maintaining an undefeated streak in their last seven consecutive Serie A matches. Additionally, they have secured victories in five of their last six encounters, with their only setback being a draw against Milan in a tightly contested 1-1 match over the weekend.
Inter, managed by Simone Inzaghi, has exhibited exceptional form this season and appears poised to claim their 20th Scudetto, having suffered only one defeat in 25 league fixtures thus far. Notably, in the earlier part of the season, the Nerazzurri narrowly secured a 2-1 victory over Atalanta.
Addressing the media in a press conference via Calciomercato.com, Gasperini articulated Atalanta’s resolve to disrupt Inter’s dominance on their home turf.
“Our sharpness is missing against Inter. It’s the only place where we haven’t managed to win yet, we’ll definitely try!
“I hope we can create problems for them, as they are doing something extraordinary with quality play. Tomorrow the table will be final as it’s a catch-up game, we have little to lose, and it can be very favourable.”
He contemplated the recent tightly contested draw between la Dea and Milan.
“The value of the point is important, Bologna are within range and there’s a match to recover. The performance was difficult but to be appreciated precisely for this reason. There was a lot of quality in defence.
“The game was a missed opportunity. We have to forget it anyway and move on to the next one. Football is constantly evolving, it’s never static, it’s not a question of numbers but evolutions and measures, the participation of goalkeepers and defenders is noticeable.
“The next moves will have to be made by the attackers who are struggling to be as dynamic as the defenders at the moment.”
The Atalanta coach provided insight into the contributions of Gianluca Scamacca.
“He is a boy who behaves very well, works a lot, is positive, the only problem is considering him a great champion, he works to try to become one like many do, he has had excellent games and excellent matches.”
Gasperini deliberated upon the penalty incident involving Milan.
“I have already expressed my opinion on the rules, I don’t like it, but I’ve always not liked it, I haven’t change my opinion depending on my advantage.
“I don’t like these stops from VAR, with handballs and big dives, then it happens against Milan, and this comes out but about 10 have happened for months.
“On Sunday there were Irrati and Orsato, better than that! Two of the best ever in a firm voice evaluated the rules.”
He spoke highly about the qualities of Inter.
“Inter are a complete team in every way, Inzaghi did a wonderful job, few times have they been seen with this quality, it’s something almost unique, they do it in Italy, in Europe, in the first leg we did a excellent match. It was balanced, we can repeat ourselves.”
The rationale behind the substitution of Charles De Ketelaere during the encounter against AC Milan, as well as the contributions of El Bilal Toure, were elucidated by the speaker.
“Technical choice. I don’t think he felt the pressure of the Milan stadium, in the previous Coppa Italia match against Milan he did very well. The players are not machines, it’s not easy to play three matches in a week.
“I don’t have a thermometer to measure the level of their recovery, as there is nothing scientific about it, you rely a lot on feelings. And then you have five changes to be able to remedy this in case, but it is difficult to establish a hierarchy.
“Touré is training, improving his position, when we have time to insert him, we will insert him, now the matches count a lot, and we cannot experiment.”
Gasperini addressed the competition for securing a position within the top four rankings, culminating in formal discourse.
“Let’s just look at our progress and matches, it’s an open season, I don’t even know when the calculations will be able to be made and if they can be done.”