Bayer Leverkusen coach Gerardo Seoane warns there are many more Atalanta dangers than Luis Muriel and won’t give tactical clues ahead of the Europa League Round of 16 tie.
The first leg was a 3-2 thriller for La Dea in Bergamo and the abolition of the away goals rule means it’s wide open going into Germany.
While Atalanta’s injury crisis is beginning to ease, the same cannot be said of the Germans, who lost Florian Wirtz at the weekend to a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
Jeremie Frimpong also picked up a knock and is ruled out, along with long-term absentee Patrik Schick, but Karim Bellarabi and Robert Andrich are available.
“The first leg confirmed what we expected of Atalanta, which is that they are very strong and aggressive. We played well at times, but also had problems, so we need to be more consistent and concentrated,” said the Swiss coach in his press conference.
“Both teams have the ambition of progressing in this tournament and are eager to get through tomorrow. We know that we have to win to qualify, but that doesn’t mean we have to get it done by half-time. The game will last 90 minutes, possibly even with extra time.”
Seoane moved to three at the back during the first leg, which neutralised many of Atalanta’s attacks. Will he start with that system tomorrow?
“I will certainly not give you any details of the line-up. All I’ll say is we must be flexible, because Atalanta can adapt very easily.”
Muriel scored twice in the first leg, with Duvan Zapata and Josip Ilicic still out of action, but the Bayer Leverkusen boss has other concerns.
“It’s true that he did the most damage last time and has individual quality in the final third, he can take men on and score goals. However, Atalanta have many talented players who can shoot from outside the box, like Ruslan Malinovskyi, Teun Koopmeiners and Remo Freuler.”
Seoane is Swiss and speaks several different languages, including Italian, so he was asked if he felt ready for a Serie A club.
“It’s not a thought in my mind at the moment, because I am already at a big club that is giving me the chance to work in a great league. I know this profession is unpredictable, but I am 100 per cent focused on this role.”
The following players are not available for #B04ATA :
❌ Florian Wirtz
❌ Patrick Schick
❌ @JeremieFrimpong
❌ Andrey Lunev
❌ Julian Baumgartlinger— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) March 16, 2022