Sassuolo’s Dionisi: We are not afraid of Atalanta, we want the quarter-finals

Sassuolo’s head coach, Alessio Dionisi, has spoken to the official Sassuolo channels ahead of the Coppa Italia last-16 tie against Atalanta.

In his comments, Dionisi suggested that the club had a challenging task ahead, but expressed confidence in his squad’s abilities. He noted that due to keeping games close together, players who had featured less in the league season would see more action in the cup tie, a similar strategy that had been employed in the previous knock-out stage.

Dionisi said: “With these tightly scheduled matches, similar to the previous round where less featured lads were given a chance, the same will happen tomorrow. We will honour the task because the commitment is to reach the quarter finals, knowing it won’t be easy but we’ll give it a shot. Those who will play have the qualities to perform well, we have the qualities to compete against Atalanta.”

He further acknowledged the strength of the Atalanta team, praising their clear identity and the remarkable results under their long-time coach. Dionisi did not consider who would be fielded by Atalanta given their depth of squad. In fact, they have even made a new signing that hints at their aspirations.

The Sassuolo head coach added this challenge should be a motivator rather than daunting. He said: “It’s an added incentive for us because we are going against a big small team – this should not scare us but stimulate us.” It will be intriguing to see how this enthusiasm translates on the field against Atalanta in the coming match.