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Atalanta midfielder Mario Pasalic urged his side to ‘keep up’ their recent Champions League form as the Nerazzurri hope to beat Celtic at home and extend their European unbeaten streak this campaign to three games.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s side host the Scottish outfit at the Gewiss Stadium on Wednesday and, despite a congested schedule, the 29-year-old believes that learning to cope with the high pace of Champions League fixtures can help Atalanta bring that intensity into their domestic campaign.
Pasalic: Atalanta reached ‘very high level’, Celtic another ‘important game’
“It’s always nice to hear the Champions League anthem,” Pasalic said in a pre-match press conference, as quoted by TMW.
“We already played important games in the past, tomorrow it’ll be another one. We did well in the first two games, we want to keep up like this.
“[Playing European games] gives us a lot, you find intense teams in the Champions League, if you can keep up with that you can bring everything into the league games.
The Croatia international also commented on the renewed format of the competition: “Every game has its own history in football, you have to be at 100% to face everything.”
“Even now, after Celtic we’ll need to focus on Verona and start over again. Atalanta reached a very high level, everyone can help when needed.”
Pasalic recently scored his 50th Serie A goal in Atalanta’s 2-0 win at Venezia, a milestone that left him pleased although he insists on not being focused on ‘personal goals’.
“I could never imagine [he could score 50 goals]. I always try to help the team, it’s always nice to reach a historic milestone, especially looking at the list of Croatian players [scoring in Serie A], they’re all strikers.
“I have no personal goals, I always put the team first and focus on doing my best.”
Pasalic’s 50th top-tier goal was his first for Atalanta this season from 11 games across three different competitions.
The former Milan midfielder hasn’t started a Champions League game yet this campaign, as he came on as a substitute during his side’s first two European matches.
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