JAKARTA - Atalanta put one foot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League after beating Valencia 4-1, Wednesday, February 19 evening. After the match, Josip Ilicic confirmed to the public; Atalanta is no longer a surprise team.
Champions League debutants Atalanta continued their story in the first leg of the Champions League last 16 which was held at the San Siro, Milan. Losing three times in the group stage, Atalanta put the visitors from Spain on the edge thanks to Hans Hateboer's braces and goals from Ilicic and Remo Freuler respectively.
"We prepared for this match in the same way we always did and had a great first half, leaving them practically nothing. Too bad we conceded the away goal, but Valencia are a strong team and we forced them to. played poorly with our game, "Ilicic, who scored an amazing goal in this match told Sky Sport Italia.
"We know their center-backs don't put too much pressure on, so that's why the coach chose me with Papu Gomez up front. We were very dangerous, especially in the first half, but we (could have) done better.
"Atalanta is no longer a surprise team, we have proven many times we don't give up. We are doing some very important things here," explained the former Fiorentina player.
Meanwhile, Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini admitted that he was very satisfied with these results. However, he regretted a goal scored by Valencia and Atalanta shouldn't have made a mistake when he was 4-0 up.
#AtalantaVCF | 4-1 | FULL-TIMEπ€© CI AGGIUDICHIAMO IL PRIMO ROUND !!! CHE PARTITA SENSAZIONALE, RAGAZZI !!! π THE FIRST ROUND IS BLACK-AND-BLUE !!! WHAT AN AMAZING MATCH, GUYS !!! # UCL #GoAtalantaGo β«π΅ pic.twitter.com/2VpJ48mmv5
- Atalanta BC (@Atalanta_BC) February 19, 2020
"If we want to get into the Champions League quarter-finals, we have to play like this at the Mestalla, prove that we deserve to be there by showing strength and winning there," said Gasperini.
"We were complacent and lost concentration in the remaining time of the game. We will analyze what went wrong and learn from this mistake, because we want to prove in the second leg that we deserve to be there. We also have to score goals there."
This guy's on π₯ right now! Well played, Josip IliΔiΔ πππ # UCL | @Mastercard pic.twitter.com/wdyPJdhXTz
- UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) February 19, 2020
What Gasperini meant was Denis Cheryshev's consolation goal in the 66th minute. This away goal certainly gave Valencia hope in the second leg at Mestalla and Atalanta was not safe enough because anything could still happen.
"This result doesn't really reflect what we saw on the pitch. I think the difference is that Atalanta practically score every chance they have, it's not an easy thing to do. We don't score when we have the opportunity. Of course, we make it. "mistakes. When you play at this level against a team like Atalanta, you shouldn't give them space. We did create chances too, and that's important for the second leg," explained Valencia coach Albert Celades.
"I think we have a chance to turn things around. The results are pretty clear tonight, but we'll see what happens at the Mestalla. We played well at our own stadium. We conceded too many, especially on the road, that's undeniable. It won't be. it's easy to reverse this situation, but we'll try. "
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