Gasperini: ‘Demiral and Musso did well’
Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini was ‘very happy’ with new signings Juan Musso and Merih Demiral after the 2-0 defeat to West Ham United.
The Hammers won thanks to clinical finishing in the Betway Cup but Gasperini was not too downbeat after the match against the Premier League side.
“It’s a good test, it gives you the right conviction on what we can do,” Gasperini told the club’s official channel. “I’m very happy with Musso and Demiral.
“We only started training together on Monday, we are a bit late, as soon as we recover a bit, we can all do well.”
West Ham start the season next weekend but Gasperini doesn’t think it’s an excuse that the Irons are ahead in the preparations.
“There are no excuses, often when you come to play this type of games, you think about the preparation,” he said.
“It’s true, we are late, but we are a close-knit group. I’m sorry we conceded towards the end.
“Now, there’s the market that certainly annoys us, but it’s also an opportunity for us to come out of it complete.”
Gasperini changed his whole team and let everyone play against West Ham and praised CEO Luca Percassi for his work on the transfer market.
“Yes, we will play a match on Wednesday, then on Saturday we will play against Juventus,” he continued. “These are confirmations that I already had at the end of the season.
“Now, we have to do some things to make us competitive. There are different situations, preparations with different periods as the latest players have arrived on Monday.
“But, I think we will be able to settle the score. Luca Percassi is very active, he managed to make a great deal, the one for Demiral, it was not easy to replace an important piece like [Cristian] Romero.
“Unforeseen events can happen in the market, which maybe you don’t think a few weeks before, but I see him ready, with many good ideas, we hope to realise some of them.”
Demiral entered after 56 minutes and Gasperini praised the former Juventus defender, but wanted to praise goalkeeper Musso too, who started in goal at the London Stadium.
“He did well, but so did Musso. They are already selected players, who have a high level of resistance against top opponents.
“It’s a good sign, clear that we need total application and availability. Both will give us something good.”
Line-ups West Ham vs. Atalanta:
West Ham United: Fabianski (Areola 63), Coufal (Fredericks 63), Diop, Dawson, Cresswell, Rice (Noble 63), Soucek (Coventry 63), Fornals, Yarmolenko (Johnson 63), Benrahma, Antonio (Bowen 63)
Atalanta: Musso (Sportiello 76), Gosens (Scalvini 76), Palomino (Demiral 56), Toloi (c) (Lovato 45), Djimsiti, Maehle (Del Prato 76), Freuler (Pessina 56), De Roon (Da Riva 82), Pasalic (Ghislandi 76), Miranchuk (Muriel 56), Piccoli (Zapata 56)