Atalanta head coach Gian Piero Gasperini commented on the defeat by Liverpool (0:1) in the second leg of the Europa League 1/4-finals , reported FOCUS.
Despite the loss, the Italians progressed in the tournament after a 3:1 aggregate score.
"We knocked out a great coach and a great team. We are putting everything into these two games - first of all our hearts. We are very happy. Today, after that quick goal, we played a fantastic game and the stands helped us a lot. We should have scored - there were opportunities to score, like at Liverpool. It was a bit of a crazy match. There are different ways to defend: lean back or press high. And we settled on the last of these options. We were strong physically and kept the pace.
I may not have had any trophies in my career, but I have a few medals and I think this deserves a medal. There is no doubt that we want to win something, but the cup is also about the unity of these boys. At half-time I asked them if they wanted to drop back a bit and defend deeper if they were under pressure and they said they didn't want to at all. For me, this is already a trophy because they think the same way as me“, said Gasperini.