Gasperini turns flecks of gold to treasure as Atalanta close on trophy

hat was the precise moment that Gian Piero Gasperini allowed himself to start believing? Was it at Anfield, watching Mario Pasalic casually side-foot home the goal that put Atalanta 3-0 ahead against Liverpool? Or during the second leg in Bergamo, seeing his team glide through the final 45 minutes of the tie without any truly nervy moments despite Mo Salah’s first-half penalty?

“It is the one achievable trophy, and the only one Atalanta have ever lifted – all the way back in 1963,” he said on 2 April. “I’ve never thought of being able to win the Scudetto ahead of rivals who finish with 90 or 100 points. Nor of winning the Champions or Europa League.” Atalanta’s top scorer across all competitions, Scamacca will be suspended for the Coppa Italia final against Juventus. Gasperini took the opportunity to remind us that his team is not reliant on any individual on Sunday, resting the striker together with several other first-choice starters and seeing his team win confidently.

Ademola Lookman sealed the points for Atalanta soon after the interval, spinning away from Bartosz Bereszynski near halfway and advancing to the edge of the box before drilling a left-footed shot into the bottom corner. Another perfect picture of the mindset Gasperini seeks to encourage, asking his players to back themselves and engage with the one-on-one battles.

He has kept his team performing at this level with a constantly changing cast of players. Long gone are many authors of his first European qualification – Papu Gómez, Franck Kessié, Remo Freuler, and Leonardo Spinazzola. Other key performers have come and gone in the years since – Josip Ilicic, Duván Zapata, Robin Gosens, Luis Muriel, Cristian Romero and Rasmus Højlund.

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