Gian Piero Gasperini insists Atalanta do not believe in their players ‘sacrificing themselves’ for tactics, but rather he aims to get the best out of them.
La Dea host Lecce today at the Gewiss Stadium at 11.30 GMT.
Last week’s 2-0 win away to Lazio was the 250th Serie A match that Gasperini had on the bench of Atalanta, while overall he is now on 315 in all competition.
“I remember the first game here in Serie A, which was against Lazio and coincidentally last week that was my 250th. It is a wonderful story, like all birthdays, you think of the great memories and also that time is passing quickly,” Gasperini told Sky Sport Italia.
“The whole squad has improved both in terms of form and physical fitness. We are missing a few players due to injuries and bans, but that can happen in the course of a campaign.”
It was noted that Jeremie Boga is part of the trident with Rasmus Hojlund and Ademola Lookman today, so he is the one who needs to ‘sacrifice’ himself in the connecting role with the midfield, but that description did not sit well with Gasperini.
“I would hope none of my players have to sacrifice themselves, we want to get the best out of them, to raise them up. I don’t think sacrifice is really a word in our vocabulary.”
Napoli, Inter and Milan all won this weekend already, so Atalanta are fighting it out with them, Roma and Lazio for the Champions League spots.
“We need to focus on our own path, keeping an eye on those ahead of and behind us in the table. Lecce are a good team, newly-promoted sides can take a while to settle and aren’t always judged fairly.”