Gian Piero Gasperini was furious with his Atalanta players after their 3-2 defeat to Fiorentina. ‘We were in a position to win and ruined it with distractions. I hope we are not focusing more on Europe.’
La Dea had taken the lead at the Stadio Franchi through Teun Koopmeiners and were dominating possession for the first half-hour, yet were trailing 2-1 by half-time when Giacomo Bonaventura and Lucas Martinez-Quarta were not closed down.
Ademola Lookman equalised, only for sluggish defending to allow Christian Kouame to prod home the winner from close range, reacting faster to the loose ball.
“We were in a position to win and ruined it with distractions, especially the first and third goals,” Gasperini told DAZN.
“It’s a pity, because we were doing well. I’ve already seen this happen in pre-season, so we have to think about what’s going on. When it was 2-2, that was the moment to step up the pressure, instead we sat deeper.
“Unfortunately, when you concede three goals in a game, it’s tough to make up for that. We could’ve been more determined and incisive both in attack and defence.”
Atalanta also made a few changes looking ahead towards the Europa League group phase, including Gianluca Scamacca rested due to a tendonitis issue.
“I hope the Europa League helps us, because I would not like it if we were subconsciously focusing more on that than Serie A. You need the right motivation to win games like this in Serie A, otherwise it all becomes more complicated.”
Atalanta will face Polish side Rakow on Thursday at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo, in a Europa League group that also includes Sporting CP and Austrians Sturm Graz.