Gasperini’s comments following Fenerbahce draw

Read what the coach had to say.

You’d asked your players to be themselves. I think things went well in that respect.

“We played well. It wasn’t easy on that pitch, with this atmosphere, and against a team that, despite being on home turf, played very compactly in defence and tried to hit us on the break as they have some very quick players. I think we put up a great fight. It ended in a draw, which could be important for the table. To reach our objectives, we need draws too.”

Was there something that didn’t work on Fenerbahce’s goal? Was it the build-up or something else?

“We came out poorly, but this happens more when we’re sitting deep, almost in a defensive line, rather than when we play in the opposition’s half. It’s definitely something we have to work on because you can’t always play attacking football, especially in this sort of match and in this competition. Sometimes you have to sit deeper. It was definitely a defensive mistake.”

Did you expect more from the substitutions you made in terms of pace?

“No, I wouldn’t say so because [Leonardo] Balerdi came on really well, and I think [Nahuel] Molina did too. Rodrigo [Mora] a bit less so, but he was playing in the middle. I had hoped his speed would cause some problems on the edge of the box, where they were very compact, but it wasn’t easy to find him between the lines. But no, I actually think the substitutions… [Marten] De Roon came on near the end when we really needed to secure the result. No, in that respect, I think everyone’s got the right approach this year.” 

A brilliant first half followed by a slightly disorganised start to the second half, which inevitably cost you. You conceded in the 47^th minute against Atalanta and the 48^th tonight. Why? Is this a pattern?

“Not everything in football can be explained. Sometimes it’s pure chance, sometimes it might be something we have to look out for in the next game. In these last two matches, the start of the second half has certainly cost us a goal – something which meant we took fewer risks.”