Atalanta delighted to win, but could have scored more - Gasperini

’s clash against

was entertaining as

Charles Aranguiz

netting the opener for the Germans before

Ruslan Malinovskyi

’s goal and

Luis Muriel

’s brace changed everything.

Lukas Hradecky pulled off some impressive saves to stop La Dea from scoring more goals, until Moussa Diaby found the back of the net to raise Leverkusen’s tally to two.

The Europa League does not accept the away goal rule any more and a 3-2 result is positive but they regret not finding the target for the fourth time.

“The players deserve a lot of credit, as they put in a great performance against a very strong, quick opponent who is difficult to face. They are doing really well in the Bundesliga at the moment and it’s very satisfying for us to get this win, even if we hoped the result would be bigger,”

coach

Gian Piero Gasperini

told

Sky Sport Italia

.

“We should be happy, because before the game we’d gladly have taken a lead into the second leg in Germany. Qualification remains extremely tough, we’ve seen the quality of this Leverkusen team, but we’ve also seen our own strengths and we created so many chances.

“It’s true that Atalanta had a few below par performances, as all teams do, especially in Serie A where it is a very balanced league, but we haven’t always taken the results we deserved.”

Even after coming back from injury, Muriel looked rusty but he netted a brace for his side.

“Unfortunately, he had some injuries and always takes a little while to rediscover his form, but we never doubted his capabilities. He was extraordinary not just with the two goals, but his entire performance.”

“We do regret conceding that goal. They had just changed system to three defenders and three forwards, but the move for the goal itself was a bit messy.

“Although we did still create chances after that, we didn’t do it as consistently as before. We should still be happy, because I saw Bayer Leverkusen play against Bayern Munich last week, they are third in the Bundesliga, so these are games at international level that raise Atalanta’s profile.”

Hans Hateboer was great and seemed to run on a rich form after a long time out.

“Unfortunately, he had a metatarsal injury, needed surgery and then had to be out in the end for 10 months. That’s an incredibly long time. When you come back in, that’s a struggle, but again we knew him so well and never had doubts he’d rediscover his form.”

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