Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini concedes José Mourinho has brought enthusiasm to Roma, although the ‘story changes on the pitch.’
La Dea host Roma at the Gewiss Stadium tomorrow. Nine points divide Atalanta and Roma in the table with Gasperini’s side three points off leaders Inter.
“We must be fully focused on the game with Roma. They are a great team despite their position in the table,” Gasperini said at a press conference, as quoted by Tuttomercatoweb.
“We can’t be satisfied with our results so far because all our competitors are going fast, we are happy with what we’ve done, but we start from the beginning in every game.
“Aside from Robin Gosens, everyone is available. He is a crucial player for us for his goals and assists. We hoped to recover him quickly, but we knew his injury was severe.
“We’ve been training for the entire week, we are not accustomed to it, it was a bit strange, but it was surely useful.”
José Mourinho’s side collected nine wins, one draw and seven losses in 17 Serie A matches and are eight points fourth-placed Napoli.
Corriere dello Sport highlights ‘mutual love relationship’ between Roma and Mourinho
“Mourinho is a great coach, he brought enthusiasm to Roma, but it’s a different story on the pitch,” said Gasperini.
“I am convinced the Giallorossi can recover, they are at the beginning and everyone needs time.
“Roma have one of the best attacks in Serie A, Nicolò Zaniolo and Tammy Abraham are two strong players, Roma have a great team.
With Chris Smalling unlikely to recover for the match, former Atalanta players Bryan Cristante, Gianluca Mancini and Roger Ibanez are expected to start at the back for the Giallorossi.
“Roma are happy with their performances, they are getting regular playing time,” said Gasperini.
“Bryan is a versatile player, he is a leader despite being very young and the same goes for Mancini. We need to be careful, especially on set-pieces because they can be very dangerous.
“Ibanez had a tough start here, he didn’t play regularly and we wanted to sell him on loan. Then Roma made an important offer to sign him permanently and the club decided to sell him.
“We respect Roma, but we have determination and self-esteem.”
Can Atalanta aim for the Serie A title?
“We think about Roma and how to win the game, we don’t think about long-term targets, it’s not a way to hide, but to face each opponent in the best way. It would be amazing to qualify for the Champions League again, but we don’t talk about the rest.”
Atalanta have qualified for the Champions League over the last three seasons.
PSG eliminated them in 2020, while Real Madrid knocked them out of the competition in the Round of 16 last term.
They were eliminated in the group stage this season, finishing third behind Manchester United and Villareal.
LIVE TMW – Gasperini: "Noi anti-Inter? Fa parte di ciò che si scrive o dice, pensiamo ad altro" https://t.co/3xi7AfY9cc
— TUTTOmercatoWEB (@TuttoMercatoWeb) December 17, 2021
I advised earlier on that Roma players should play according to instruction from the Special One. Now that they have whitewashed Aralanta, Congratulations to all