Gian Piero Gasperini is reunited with Sporting CP in the Europa League Round of 16, warns Atalanta had ‘no time to prepare’ and tells Gianluca Scamacca what he needs to improve.
The first leg kicks off at the Estadio Jose Alvalade on Wednesday at 17.45 GMT.
This is unusual considering the Europa League is generally played on a Thursday, but was made necessary by a packed fixture list.
Curiously, these teams already met in the Europa League group stage earlier this season, with Atalanta winning 2-1 in Lisbon and drawing 1-1 in Bergamo.
“Sporting are a very strong team and they were already were five months ago, but have consolidated themselves even more in that period,” Gasperini told Sky Sport Italia.
“They are doing very good things domestically, but we too showed progress in that time. We are different teams, but also balanced ones.”
La Dea had been in sparkling form, but it seems to have gone awry lately, managing one point from the last three Serie A matches.
“We picked up a very good point against Milan, but lost to Inter and Bologna. The regrets are the most recent match, but this is a different competition, we start afresh and the only problem is that we are playing so many high level games that are too close together.
“We would’ve preferred not having to play four huge matches in the space of 11 days. The Inter fixture was put in there after two normal months and in the middle of the two most important games. We basically have not had time to prepare for Sporting at all and that is a big problem.”
There is practically a full squad at the disposal of the coach in Lisbon, but Gianluca Scamacca has struggled in recent months and lost his place upfront to Charles De Ketelaere.
The former West Ham and Sassuolo centre-forward has been criticised for not putting the effort in and battling for the ball.
“When opposition teams use centre-backs in midfield, it becomes evident that the strikers have to be more dynamic too. There are characteristics to consider, as we cannot expect Scamacca to cover the same distance as Ederson or Marten de Roon.
“Undoubtedly, it is indispensable for strikers to increase their range and I think Scamacca is trying to do that. I would like him to take some of the pressure off his own shoulders, people think he always has to do something extraordinary, but he gets discouraged at the first misplaced pass. I am convinced he will make big steps forward.”
📋 I nostri convocati per #SportingAtalanta!
✈️ Our travelling squad for tomorrow’s game!@intesasanpaolo | #UEL #GoAtalantaGo ⚫️🔵 pic.twitter.com/8vCs2VhBwP
— Atalanta B.C. (@Atalanta_BC) March 5, 2024