We asked ourselves before the match: who is the real Atalanta? The one that annihilated Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League with a big European attitude, or the subdued one seen on some occasions at the start of the season? Well, the answer came from the first minute in the match against Genoa, won 5 to 1 without it ever being in question.
A victory in all respects. And this Retegui grows out of all proportion
The 3 points came at the end of a truly amazing performance for Gasperini’s team. From the first minute, the victory of the Bergamo team never really seemed to be in question, even if in the first 45 minutes the rossoblu had partially limited the damage, without however practically ever being dangerous. Gasperini’s game combined with the patience of those who knew that sooner or later the match would break the deadlock. And the match broke the deadlock after just 21 minutes, and was then all downhill. All with a Retegui who grows out of all proportion. We wondered if he would have scored more in a more offensive team than Grifone: well, in 7 days he equaled the goals scored in the whole of last season…
Gasp applauds, Retegui remains humble
Gasperini was euphoric after the match: “Am I happy? Obviously, we played a great match. We’re in a good moment, we won against Shakhtar, we’re growing. Every now and then, as happened against Como, we melt down. We play a lot, every three days, even the other teams involved in the cups have a drop in energy but when we are on the ball, like tonight, we can always perform well.”
Mateo Retegui, on the other hand, remains humble: “I’m very happy, but not for me, for the team. We played a great match, against a strong team. We played football as we wanted. Hat-trick in the national team too? I keep my feet on the ground, we did two great matches, we must continue like this, working to win again.”