Gian Piero Gasperini spoke of a bitter defeat in Bergamo after the first match of Atalanta against Real Madrid (0-1) in the eighth finals of the Champions League on Wednesday evening. The coach not only mourned Ferland Mendy’s winning goal just before time, but also the fact that his team was already on the field with one man less after seventeen minutes of play. “We couldn’t play our own game,” he sulked.
Remo Freuler got a red card for a charge on Mendy, who didn’t seem to be going towards Atalanta’s goal. The decision of referee Tobias Stieler went completely wrong with Gasperini. “Duels are part of football, but it seems they want to ban them. If they continue like this, the football will be killed. It’s suicide, ”Gasperini sighed. “It cannot be that we have referees who have never played football and who do not understand what is going on. Or not knowing the difference between a duel and a foul. What happened tonight is unbelievable. And if they don’t understand or don’t see the difference, then they have to change jobs. ”
“The referees also have the images from the VAR at their disposal, they have everything to make no mistake. This isn’t space science though. You don’t have to work at NASA to understand this. ” Gasperini is not afraid of suspension as a result of his tirade. “I was only suspended from Serie A for saying something, so if I let myself go now… UEFA will suspend me for a month. That red card has ruined the match ”, the coach repeated la Dea. “With ten men we could no longer play as we like to do. We will never know what the result would have been if we had just finished the match with eleven men. ”
View the summary of Atalanta – Real Madrid
Gasperini mourned the late goal of Mendy, who hit goal in the final phase with a viewed shot. “We seemed to get the final signal 0-0, but unfortunately Mendy’s right foot thought otherwise. In retrospect, a 0-1 defeat is not even that bad if you look at how the game went for us. And our starting position can continue with it. We only have to win the return in Spain and that is a trusted assignment for my team, because we always and everywhere play to win. ”
The red card caused a lot of commotion in Italy, where many media believe it was unjustified. After all, Cristian Romero was still in the area and Mendy seemed more towards the side than towards the goal. Former trainer Fabio Capello also could not believe his eyes. “The referee ruined a beautiful and interesting match. Under normal circumstances I would have liked to see if Gasperini’s tactics would have worked against Real Madrid as well. Freuler was not the last man, ”emphasized the former coach of Real Madrid and AC Milan, among others.
Mendy went to the side. I don’t understand the referee’s decision. He ruined everything. Lazio also asked yesterday (Tuesday, ed.) For a clear penalty kick at a score of 0-1 against Bayern Munich. Today this red card. I am starting to doubt the referees. ” With one man less, Atalanta was clearly no longer the team everyone is used to. In the first fifteen matches in the Champions League, they shot an average of five times aimed at goal; On Wednesday evening, Gasperini’s team did not get the ball once between the aluminum of Thibaut Courtois.