As Atalanta succumbed to a narrow 3-2 defeat against Fiorentina at the Artemio Franchi, Gian Piero Gasperini didn’t cut for an impressed figure. The longtime Nerazzurri tactician admitted that his side caved in with their carelessness and called for improvements ahead of their UEFA Europa League opener against Polish side Raków Częstochowa.
Speaking to DAZN (via Calciomercato) after the defeat in Florence, Gasperini blamed his side for letting loose after Ademola Lookman equalized in the second half to make it 2-2.
“There were the conditions to win, and we ruined them due to carelessness especially on the first and third goals. It’s a shame because we were doing well. We have to think about it. I’ve already seen these things in the pre-season. After the 2-2 goal, we slowed down instead of accelerating. Today there was also a bit of fatigue due to the heat. When you concede three in the same match it becomes difficult to straighten it out. We still scored two goals, putting ourselves in a good spot. But we left too much space for Fiorentina.”
Despite admitting that his squad is going through a physical decline, Gasperini hopes the upcoming continental clash will help his side take the edge off.
“Let’s hope that the Europa League helps us. However, I wouldn’t want us to think more about that than Serie A.”
Gasperini is all for rotating his squad as the fixtures pile up.
“We changed the setup a lot up front. When you play three games, we can use substitutions like all teams do. The important thing is to be decisive. Lookman did well today. He’s the one in best condition among all our strikers.”
Gasperini will look to get Atalanta to pace when they face Raków in Bergamo on Thursday before returning to action next week, where they tackle Cagliari and Hellas Verona in the space of three days.
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