Gian Piero Gasperini spoke to journalists about Atalanta-Roma at full-time of the Giallorossi’s 1-0 loss in Bergamo.
“I didn’t get a chance to see Atalanta’s goal again. It’s a shame we conceded that goal after coming close to taking the lead. Atalanta is a very strong team. I’m happy with Roma; it was tough against a strong team.”
“It wasn’t easy against strong, physical opponents. We played our game, created dangerous chances, but it’s a shame they didn’t convert them. These games are all about incidents, and it’s a shame we didn’t capitalize on them.”
“Dybala’s mistake in front of goal? It has nothing to do with age. Even at 25, you miss those goals. It was a huge chance, and then there were others. It’s clear that that episode could have changed the game.”
“We’re not leaving the game diminished; Atalanta is a team built over the years, very solid and strong; we’ve only just started. Atalanta are playing in the Champions League, they’re very strong, and staying ahead of them is a great achievement.”
“It’s not by chance that we come away defeated. We need to grow and improve in some way. When we fall behind, we come very close to equalizing, but we didn’t manage it. We have still ways to grow as a team and as a club.”
After reviewing the footage of the goal, Gasperini fumed to DAZN: “We conceded that absurd goal given the current VAR rules. We lost against a strong team, but we lived up to it. The goal is inexplicable given the rules; you can’t make mistakes like that. We were stuck for three minutes. Then they turn it around in so many ways; the rules change every time.”
“We don’t have the means on the pitch, so we rely on the appropriate bodies to judge. There are two things: one, the hands on the goalkeeper; two, the arm with which the ball was touched. It didn’t affect the game, then you just keep playing. We played our game. Atalanta is a strong team; they played with great generosity and physical strength, but this kind of thing doesn’t exist. There’s no comment,” added the Roma coach.
