Gian Piero Gasperini acknowledges Atalanta “have never given off the idea we were a solid, defensive team” and must do better against Udinese.
It kicks off on Sunday at 14.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.
“There’s no respite for us this season, it’s one after the other and all tough games,” said the coach in his press conference.
Gian Piero Gasperini acknowledges Atalanta “have never given off the idea we were a solid, defensive team” and must do better against Udinese.
It kicks off on Sunday at 14.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.
“There’s no respite for us this season, it’s one after the other and all tough games,” said the coach in his press conference.
“We’ve got Simon Kjaer and Jose Luis Palomino back, but have perhaps lost Andrea Masiello to injury, but it would only be for a few days.
“Clearly, it’s not easy for these players every three days, especially as they are not accustomed to this type of schedule.”
The Orobici are fresh from a 5-1 drubbing in the Champions League against Manchester City, leaving them bottom of their group without a single point, even if the performances have not been as bad as the results would suggest.
“It’s a growth process and we believe that with seven points, we can still take at least third place in the group. We’ll play with all our ferocity.
“Evidently, compliments from Pep Guardiola for our style of football are nice, but the result remains very heavy. We know that we’ve never been that good at defending, as we’re better going forward, but we could’ve held out for much longer in Manchester.
“The same thing happened against Sassuolo, then last week Lazio, we have never given off the idea that we were a solid, defensive team. We create chances too and score plenty of goals, but we must all give more and should’ve scored at least another in Manchester.”
Duvan Zapata is still out of action, but Luis Muriel was initially left on the bench against Manchester City, with Josip Ilicic as a False 9.
“Muriel is showing signs of improvement and is an extraordinary finisher who in my view needs to be in the penalty area. It’s not good having few options upfront, we’ll see who of Ilicic and Ruslan Malinovskyi will start.
“I do expect more from Ilicic, as he needs to find his form.”