Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini was delighted with their Europa League win against Bayer Leverkusen.
La Dea won 3-2 in the first-leg of the round 16 tie.
Gasperini said, The players deserve a lot of credit, as they put in a great performance against a very strong, quick opponent who is difficult to face. They are doing really well in the Bundesliga at the moment and it’s very satisfying for us to get this win, even if we hoped the result would be bigger.
“We should be happy, because before the game we’d gladly have taken a lead into the second leg in Germany. Qualification remains extremely tough, we’ve seen the quality of this Leverkusen team, but we’ve also seen our own strengths and we created so many chances.
“It’s true that Atalanta had a few below par performances, as all teams do, especially in Serie A where it is a very balanced league, but we haven’t always taken the results we deserved.”
On Hans Hateboer’s performance, Gasperini added: “Unfortunately, he had a metatarsal injury, needed surgery and then had to be out in the end for 10 months. That’s an incredibly long time. When you come back in, that’s a struggle, but again we knew him so well and never had doubts he’d rediscover his form.”
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