Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini sat down with the press talk about the Young Boys fixture: “It is an important game. The fact that they defeated Manchester United makes everything more complicated. The really deciding clashes will arrive later on, though.”
“They are a very organized side. They mostly use 4-4-2, but they changed it a little in the past tilt. We will have to pay attention to that. They are accustomed to the Champions League stage and to winning. They have prevailed in ten of their last nine matches. I am impressed by their collective play. They are a true team, so we will have to perform well to come away with three points.”
Gasperini announced that Luis Muriel is on track to return: “He will have the final test today, but, after seeing him in the last few days, I am positive he will be able to make the bench. Duvan Zapata is in great form despite playing a lot.”
The coach dished on the four-day turnaround: “It is not an exact science. We were in this exact same situation in Salerno, and we struggled. Instead, we did better against Sassuolo after three days. The extra 24 hours make it easier to recover, but the amount of mental energies is always unpredictable and varies from player to player.”
Gasperini got away with a slap on the wrist for an antidoping violation: “It was a fair and reasonable sentence. I have nothing to add to it. I hope the matter is resolved now.”
“We are coming off a quality performance against Inter. I disagree with those that say that they deserved to win, as we created more. It will help us in certain aspects. We can gain strength, confidence, and a morale boost from it.”