Gasperini Admits Atalanta Need Time To Bounce Back Against Olympiakos

Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini (Twitter.com/@Atalanta_BC)

JAKARTA - Atalanta won 2-1 over Olympiakos in the first leg of the Europa League play-off round on Friday morning. Despite closing the game perfectly, Gian Piero has a record that his team must pay attention to.

The Atalanta coach said his team needed some time to get back on their feet in an attempt to beat their opponent.

"It took us a while to come back from behind in the first half and then control the second half," he was quoted as saying by Sky Sport Italia.

Furthermore, for Gasperini the match against Olympiakos was not an easy match. Because the opponents they face this time are the top of the Greek League standings.

"Games in European competition are always difficult, you face teams who are top of their own league and have players who can score goals from anywhere," said the 64-year-old manager.

In the match which took place at the Gewiss Atalanta stadium, they had fallen behind through Francisco Soares' shot from outside the penalty box in the 16th minute. Luckily in the second half, Gasperini's team was able to rise.

Unmitigated, Atalanta immediately responded with a Berat Djimsiti brace. The defender strafed Tomas Vaclik's goal after 61 minutes and two minutes later. The score of 2-1 lasted until the end.

"Say that when we score from a corner it also helps our confidence," said Gasperini.

This 2-1 win over Olympiakos also made Atalanta managed to end a five-game winless streak. In addition, this result can also be an additional capital when playing the second leg of the Europa League play-off to Olympiakos headquarters next week.