Gasperini not happy, wants more ‘mature’ Atalanta players | OneFootball

Gian Piero Gasperini was far from happy with his Atalanta side after their 10th consecutive Serie A victory. ‘Some of the squad is mature, others still need to absorb the attitude of the old guard.’

It is the first time in the club’s history that they have won 10 consecutive Serie A matches and it also means they will remain top of the table for at least one more week.

They needed five huge saves from goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi to keep Cagliari quiet at the Unipol Domus Arena this afternoon, then Nicolò Zaniolo came off the bench to score from close range within two minutes of his introduction.

“Considering our position in the table, we had extra motivation to cling on tight to the result, and towards the end the defenders and midfielders fought hard to keep going,” Gasperini told DAZN.

“It’s true that we were lucky in some situations during the first half and were rescued by Carnesecchi. We changed our system at half-time, were in control and ran few risks, then when we took the lead, we failed to make the most of the gaps that opened up on the counter, so that was a sign of lacking maturity.

“Cagliari put a lot of crosses in and risked scoring an equaliser, but we did well to hold on.”

Gasperini angry at immature Atalanta

epa11776626 Cagliari’s Roberto Piccoli (C) in action during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Cagliari Calcio and Atalanta BC, in Cagliari, Italy, 14 December 2024. EPA-EFE/FABIO MURRU

With Napoli playing away to Udinese this evening, Atalanta are temporarily five points clear of the table. Does Gasperini feel the team is mature enough to challenge for major silverware now?

“At this moment, no. Some of the squad is mature, others still need to absorb the attitude of the old guard. We won 10 in a row, but nothing changes, we still need to keep progressing and follow our own path.”

Gasperini was seen shouting angrily at some of his players, most notably Ademola Lookman and Zaniolo, in the closing stages when Atalanta were repeatedly giving the ball away and not making the most of dangerous counter-attacks that would’ve doubled their lead.

“There were several situations like this, they can’t all go in the net, but we could’ve defended better with everyone rather than only some. I would’ve been more satisfied if we had done that.”

Zaniolo also received his second consecutive yellow card for over-celebrating in front of home fans after the booking against Roma.

Does Gasperini think the midweek match against Real Madrid sapped energy from his team?

“Not for everyone. There are some who played against Real Madrid and played 95 minutes like lions today too. Of course it sapped some energy, which is why I made changes,” explained the coach.

“We allowed Cagliari too many spaces in the first half, we did much better in the second, but needed to be more of a team unit in the final minutes.”