After qualifying for the Champions League round of 16 in Amsterdam, Atalanta return to winning ways in the league at their stadium. At the Gewiss Stadium, Fiorentina are beaten 3-0 and Gain Piero Gasperini is satisfied with it: “It’s a nice win”.

“It’s a nice win because it had been missing for several rounds in the league. It’s true that we had been doing well in the Champions League by winning in Liverpool and Amsterdam. Yet in the league we had slipped back, we lost a few points along the way. This wasn’t an easy game on the eve. Having won with merit is a good sign”.

Atalanta led at the break thanks to a late opener, then in the second half you confirmed the result.

“I think Atalanta did well also in the first 45 minutes, it’s never easy as matches are always balanced. We had some resounding chances. They had one with Vlahovic, which was a bit casual, but the team were firmly in control of the game. They created some chances and then they scored a late goal in the first half and it got easier”.

Coach, the Champions League undeniably takes some energy away, not only physical, but also mental ones.

“Yes, because the UCL was every week, as I’ve said many times. You normally play the Champions League every two or three weeks. It’s difficult to recover when you play it every week against teams like Liverpool and Ajax”.

Now you’ll only focus on the league, even though you’ll keep playing on Wednesdays, as both games against Juventus and Bologna are on Wednesday, Juve first.

“Juve first, then Roma and Bologna. We are up against Juventus on Wednesday, who are one of the seeded teams of the Champions League. Juve are very strong. Juventus are last year’s team with the addition of Chiesa, Morata, Kulusevski and McKennie… They signed important players and are set to come out even stronger than last year. Now we can prepare ourselves better after this win”.