Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini waxed lyrical about his team’s performance in a scintillating 3-0 romping of reigning champions Napoli on Saturday afternoon. La Dea posted their first Serie A win since mid-February against the odds to close the gap on fourth-placed Bologna to four points.
Goals from Aleksey Miranchuk and Gianluca Scamacca handed Atalanta a comfortable two-goal cushion at halftime before Teun Koopmeiners sealed the deal with his tenth away goal in Serie A this season. La Dea desperately needed this result at the Diego Maradona Stadium after accumulating just two points from the previous six league matchdays.
It wasn’t a flawless display from Atalanta by any stretch of the imagination. They needed the woodwork to save them twice, not to mention Marco Carnesecchi’s superb showing in goal. However, while they were not always at their best in defense, they threw a spectacle on the opposite half of the pitch.
“You can only be pleased when winning 3-0 away to Napoli, but also for the way we achieved this victory, creating numerous chances, keeping the game in hand and although [Victor] Osimhen threatened, we were always in control,” Gasperini told DAZN, as quoted by Gianluca Di Marzio.
An emphatic win against the reigning Serie A holders was the perfect warm-up for next week’s Coppa Italia semi-final tie against Fiorentina. Atalanta are still in contention for two major titles, though they face Premier League heavyweights Liverpool in the Europa League quarter-finals after overcoming Sporting CP before the international break.
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