After acquiring their first point in Champions League against Manchester City, Atalanta returns to league play against Sampdoria. Manager Gasperini spoke to the press prior to the match.
"We still need to fix a few situations, but we're numerically out of breath. On Tuesday, Malinovskyi re-aggravated an injury. Freuler also was hurting at the end on Wednesday. Gosens has been out for a few days, Illcic is disqualified and Zapata won't be there."
"For the team to have obtained a historic result in Champions League was very important. We lifted a weight off ourselves, there's satisfaction, also for the defense's performance. Now, though, we need to re-enter the league climate, where there are other challenges. Our momentum was stopped by Cagliari and the standings must not deceive us. Sampdoria comes from an important victory and we'll play on a difficult pitch. It would be excellent to close with a victory before the break."
"The league is very short. Every match is important. They have a few problems, but are looking to resolve them. We have energy to recuperate. On paper this is important and difficult for both teams. Rigoni is a great player. The manager is like a cook: at times he needs salt and they give him sugar. It's not that sugar is bad, but often you need more salt."
On Zapata: "It's been a month since the injury. For a moment it seemed like he could return against Man City, but you cannot say he was healed, because the scar still wasn't healed. He cannot shoot and kick. He did a little training to begin his re-entry."
