Tickets
Shop
Here’s what the coach had to say.
You often talk about having a united and resilient group. As the victory came against a strong Atalanta team, does it take on even greater significance?
“I’d say so, precisely because we played against a strong team. We found ourselves behind probably with their first shot on goal, after a first half that was completely one-way traffic. In games like this, in this heat, you run the risk of attacking continuously, failing to score and then the opposition, having used up less energy from an athletic point of view, can find some space and score, making it difficult to get back into the game. We did well right until the end. In fact, we had some decent opportunities late on. Of course, when you win like this, in the closing stages, when you’re losing until stoppage time and then actually turn the game around and win, it’s clear that these are signs that the group believes, that the team believes and that there’s quality there, too.”
How much of a difference did the five substitutions make in providing that freshness right until the final whistle?
“They were clearly important because, as I said before, when you keep attacking like that, you expend a lot of energy and then, if you don’t manage to get the goal, there’s a risk that the game could go in a different direction and that you no longer have the same strength you had in the first half. The changes at the back were important too, with [Leonardo] Balerdi and [Daniele] Ghilardi coming on because they were breaking forward dangerously. Instead, with the two of them coming on, we regained our attacking impetus. [Marco] Carnesecchi was extraordinary. Our finishing was good and we did well in attack tonight, but a little less ruthless than usual. A lot of our shots were also fairly tame, without the right determination, and we created a huge number of chances. We were rewarded in the end.”
Do you have the idea of playing Santiago Castro alongside Donyell Malen, or are they alternatives vying for the same place at the moment?
“It’s an idea for the future. They can certainly both be on the pitch and play together. We’ll see. We’re assessing things at the moment. We’ll have a lot of games and after the international break, there’ll certainly be a run of difficult matches against top teams, with three games a week for many weeks, so there’ll be opportunities for everyone and also we’ll be able to vary these systems of play. I have to say that [Matias] Soule came on and did very well too. He was equally determined. [Nahuel] Molina also gave us a bit of quality. The substitutes did well, but this is what we were looking to finish off in the squad in terms of having alternatives who can provide support over the course of games.”
The impression is that you have much more quality and greater depth this year in terms of quality within the squad. Is that correct?
“Not in terms of numbers, because compared with last year we’re short of two or three players. In terms of quality, though, yes, definitely. Tonight’s changes demonstrate that: I still had [Marten] De Roon on the bench, I still had [Konstantinos] Koulierakis and other important players. I have [Lorenzo] Pellegrini out at the moment, but we’ll get him back. The important thing is to avoid injuries because we don’t have a Champions League-sized squad. In terms of quality, however, we can make changes without suffering a drop-off.”
Did Paulo Dybala have a problem with his adductor tonight?
“No, he stayed on in the end. Obviously, towards the end, anyone who’d played 90 minutes was a little fatigued. Wesley had some cramp too, but the weather conditions were really difficult and playing in those conditions, having to chase and having to come from behind, makes you expend much more energy.”
.
..
