Atalanta’s Super Cup Loss: Gasperini Defends Lineup Decisions
Atalanta’s journey in the italian super Cup ended abruptly in the semi-finals, with a defeat against Inter Milan. The match, held at Al-Awal Park Stadium in saudi Arabia – hosting the tournament for the second consecutive year – saw Inter advance thanks to a brace from Denzel Dumfries.
Following the loss, Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini addressed the controversial decision to bench key players like Charles De Kittilari, Ademola Lookman, and Ederson, opting for a completely different attacking lineup. He clarified his strategy in an interview with Italian Mediaset.
“I was not trying a new formation. I have many players and we played many matches before participating in the italian Super Cup, wich came as an prospect to include other players, but they played less well compared to the rest,”
Gasperini further elaborated on the match, acknowledging inter’s early dominance but highlighting Atalanta’s improved performance later in the game.
“We faced Inter in the semi-finals, and this is the right time to do that. In the frist half, Inter gave us the ball easily, but we created many chances before the end, and in the second half we conceded a goal from a corner despite a mistake by scalvini and the possibility of De Vrij being offside.”
Despite the loss, Gasperini remained positive, viewing the experience as a valuable learning opportunity.
“Things would have been different if we had not been late in the result, but this is a very good thing to gain as experience. We did not underestimate anything. We tried to win against a strong team, and to win these matches we have to make the fewest mistakes on both sides.”
The Italian super Cup, held in Saudi Arabia, featured Inter Milan, the reigning Serie A champions, and Atalanta, the Coppa Italia runners-up.Inter will now face the winner of the milan vs.Juventus semi-final match in the final. This marks Inter’s 13th appearance in the Super cup final, a competition they’ve won in the last three editions. They aim for their ninth title tying Juventus’ record.
