Gian Piero Gasperini won’t commit to starting Luis Muriel more regularly after the winner against Cagliari, but Atalanta can start preparing for Real Madrid now.
It was a close game in Sardinia, as Muriel came off the bench to score the winner, then in stoppages a penalty was awarded to Cagliari, only to be revoked via VAR.
Gian Piero Gasperini won’t commit to starting Luis Muriel more regularly after the winner against Cagliari, but Atalanta can start preparing for Real Madrid now.
It was a close game in Sardinia, as Muriel came off the bench to score the winner, then in stoppages a penalty was awarded to Cagliari, only to be revoked via VAR.
“Without Muriel, and the penalty, these are incidents that change a game. Fortunately we had VAR and it was able to see it,” Gasperini told Sky Sport Italia.
“This was a complicated game, as Cagliari are well-organised, very physical and aggressive. We created many chances in the second half, hit the woodwork and pretty much remained in their half, but you need the extraordinary moment from Muriel, otherwise it’s difficult to win.”
Considering how reliable the Colombian is in front of goal, should he not get more starts for La Dea?
“Muriel has played more than anyone, really, it’s just that he is so effective off the bench. He is an extraordinary players, it’s no coincidence he was targeted by Juventus and others.
“He’s still young and can improve, above all in his personality. You need to keep a close eye on him, such as this evening he received an absurd yellow card in the last five minutes and he does that a lot. We absolutely need to work on that aspect of his game.”
The Champions League Round of 16 is coming up in 10 days against Real Madrid, while the Coppa Italia Final will be with Juventus.
“From tomorrow we’ll start thinking about it. We’ve got Napoli on Sunday and Real Madrid on Wednesday. So far, we haven’t had time to think about the Champions League, as they were all Coppa Italia knockouts.
“We’ve seen Real Madrid play, we know they have extraordinary players with technique and pace, regardless of that period of poor form.
“It’s a very prestigious fixture for Atalanta. We can’t try to win the Champions League, but we can learn from the experience and take that with us to Serie A.
“The important thing for us is to keep growing. The club made great investments, our finances are very positive in a world where clubs are full of debt, so I don’t know what more we could aim for.
“We dropped a few points in Serie A this season, but so did everyone. When we lost to Spezia, people tore us to shreds, but Spezia play really good football and Milan realised that last night too. We can only try to do our best.”