Gian Piero Gasperini says wins over Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen make Atalanta 'deserved' Europa League winners
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ByOli Gent
Published 22/05/2024 at 23:08 GMT
Gian Piero Gasperini hailed his Atalanta side following their incredible UEFA Europa League success. La Dea beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-0, courtesy of an Ademola Lookman hat-trick, to lift their first trophy since 1963. It ends the German club's 51-game unbeaten run. Atalanta went into the final as underdogs, but Gasperini says his side "deserved it without a shadow of a doubt".
Gian Piero Gasperini con la Coppa al termine di Atalanta-Bayer Leverkusen - Finale di Europa League 2023-24
Image credit: Getty Images
Gian Piero Gasperini praised his “extraordinary” Atalanta side after their stunning UEFA Europa League success.
The Italian outfit backed up their wins over Liverpool and Sporting Lisbon in the knockout stages of the competition by beating Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in Dublin.
Former Everton and Charlton winger Ademola Lookman was the hero on the night, firing his team to victory with a superb hat-trick.
It means Atalanta end their 61-year wait for a major honour, while Gasperini has won the first trophy of his 21-year management career.
“It's an amazing feeling,” Gasperini told Sky Sport. “The boys were incredible, the performance that they put in this evening was wonderful.
"You can't just defend in matches like this. We knew about this type of team; that they're really good going forward but not so good if you force them to defend. It went well right from the beginning.
"More than anything else, it's also about how we did it. We absolutely deserved to win. We're so happy because to win the Europa League is a huge achievement for us."
The result means Atalanta are the first team to beat Die Werkself this season, ending the German outfit’s 51-game unbeaten run.
They have also secured UEFA Champions League football for 2024/25. It will only be the fourth time the club have played in European football’s premier competition – with each qualification secured since Gasperini took the reins in 2016.
“I think we are in history, but the way we won was extraordinary,” he continued.
“We repeated the performances of Liverpool and Lisbon. Sporting won their league, Liverpool were top of the Premier League when we went there, Bayer Leverkusen absolutely dominated the Bundesliga."
The Italian side executed their game plan perfectly in Dublin. They were happy to concede possession, with Bayer enjoying 67% of the ball.
However, Atalanta were the much more clinical of the two sides, scoring three times from 10 shots, whereas their opponents had the same number of efforts on goal, but failed to hit the back of the net.
Gasperini added: “We often play with the trident, there were all the conditions to do it, we had to play for the win in a final. Everyone was extraordinary.
“The way we did it was the most important thing, we deserved it without a shadow of a doubt against such a strong team. Winning the Europa League is an extraordinary achievement.”
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