Atalanta Manager Plays Down Scudetto Talks Despite Purple Patch | OneFootball

Atalanta returned to winning ways in the UEFA Champions League with a 2-0 triumph at Stuttgart last night. Gian Piero Gasperini addressed the media after a phenomenal victory at the MHPArena.

Ademola Lookman and Nicolo Zaniolo scored beyond halftime to inspire Atalanta to a much-needed win following a gut-wrenching scoreless draw against Celtic last time out. Furthermore, it was La Dea’s fourth consecutive victory in all competitions.

“We came here with ambition, but that’s a long way from winning because these are difficult places to play,” the Atalanta boss said, as reported by TMW. “They were coming off a fantastic win away to Juventus, but the way we won also gave us confidence, because we played with character.

“It’s true we suffered a little towards the end, were lacking a bit of organisation to stop those situations,” the Atalanta manager continued. “But I always say that Champions League games help you to grow, and we saw that valuable experience earned in the Europa League last season.

“This is a victory that puts us in a good position for this Champions League table. I don’t know how it will end, but there are many teams crammed together in a few points. Serie A is a different competition, naturally we prepare for Udinese with confidence.”

Atalanta enjoyed a perfect warm-up for their Champions League trip to Germany. They thumped Serie A leaders Napoli 3-0 last weekend to close the distance on the table’s summit to only three points.

Whether it’s a mind game or something else, Gasperini played down his team’s Scudetto chances.

“If you ask me can we win the Scudetto, I would say no,” the Atalanta boss stated. “We can hope to stay in that group if the others wait for us, we are pleased with our progress, but to win the title we’d need to make many more steps forward. I don’t think that’s heresy, nor hiding our light under a bushel.“