Gasperini: ‘It was probably our best performance of the season’

Gian Piero Gasperini believes Atalanta’s 2-0 victory over Lazio at the Olimpico was probably their best performance so far this season. La Dea went ahead through Davide Zappacosta before Rasmus Højlund doubled the lead in the second half, the win taking Atalanta to third in the table, leapfrogging Roma and Milan in the process. Speaking with DAZN (as quoted by Pazza di Fanta) after the game, Gasperini insisted that he’s not thinking about the Champions League qualification for now and touched on the comparisons between Højlund and Erling Haaland:

“It was the best performance of the season, it’s one of those matches that can give you confidence because it came against a team whom we played the worst game of the season in the first leg”.

“Champions League? We’ve never backed down, when we get to 10 days from the end we’ll see where we could get. But even now I’m satisfied with what we’re doing”.

“Hojlund? He can still improve and grow a lot, he’s a very young but a very technical boy. But today I’d like to congratulate all the lads, not one in particular. Comparison to Haaland? The characteristics are similar. He runs the 100 metres in under 11 seconds without too much effort. For the height he has, he manages to have a low centre of gravity with an incredible stride frequency. He will have an extraordinary career, but I don’t need to say that.”

“Ederson? We thought at the beginning of the year that we had found a trequartista, but in the course of the year we have noticed that he has played his best games as a midfielder. He and Koopmeiners are interchangeable and this can be an extra weapon.”