Gasperini: Coppa Italia achievable for Atalanta between Musso and Carnesecchi

In a press conference ahead of their away match against Milan in the Coppa Italia, Atalanta’s head coach, Gian Piero Gasperini, shared his thoughts on the team’s aims, challenges and possible setbacks.

He emphasised the importance of Coppa Italia as a trophy for Atalanta. Explaining his match strategy, he said, “We don’t want to back down, our goal is to get into the Champions League.” Gasperini expressed his satisfaction with the team’s performance in recent matches, acknowledging it as a unit robustly equipped to compete at high levels. However, he didn’t underestimate the strength of Milan, the opponent he will face in the upcoming match.

The coach called out the lack of penalties awarded in Atalanta’s favour in his remarks. In the first half of the season, and even in last year’s return leg, Atalanta did not receive any penalties, which is undeniably a rare occurrence. Despite not having many instances to contest, Gasperini indicated that by the standards adopted, they could have had as many as ten penalties.

Regarding injuries in the team, Gasperini was cautiously optimistic about the condition of players De Ketelaere and Kolasinac. He said he will have more information about their status only by the morning of the match.

Praising Heni, the coach called him an important player, but added, “he certainly needs some more time to develop.”

Lastly, Gasperini talked about the players Musso and Carnesecchi. He lauded their performances in recent matches and particularly highlighted how well Musso played, even better than previous years. Carnesecchi too, he noted, had a good match against Roma. He wrapped up his comments by talking about the wealth of alternatives available to him in attack, ranging from De Ketelaere to Lookman, and from Miranchuk to Muriel, all of whom are consistently decisive.