Atalanta wasted a two-goal lead against Verona in Serie A on Monday night, ultimately slumping to a 2-2 draw against the relegation threatened side.
It was their final league game before Thursday night’s Europa League quarter-final second leg against Liverpool, which they lead 3-0 on aggregate.
La Dea are stuttering on the home front but were nonetheless hoping to close the gap on European rivals Bologna and Roma, with an outside chance at qualifying for the Champions League still apparent.
The former only managed a 0-0 draw with Monza on Saturday and the latter’s game against Udinese was abandoned following Evan Ndicka’s worrying collapse.
Atalanta were without suspended duo Davide Zappacosta and Marten de Roon as well as highly-rated young defender Giorgio Scalvini, who remains injured and unlikely to feature against Liverpool.
West Ham flop Gianluca Scamacca continued his incredible form in front of goal, however, netting in his third Serie A game in a row, having seen off the Reds at Anfield with a double.
The Italy international then set up Ederson to put Atalanta two to the good.
Atalanta were well on top, creating but failing to take several chances, and their recent struggles in the Italian top flight continued when Verona struck two goals in four minutes after the break.
Darko Lazovic and Tijjani Noslin hit back for the visitors, whose point moves them clear of the relegation zone.
Gian Piero Gasperini earned praise for the manner in which his side cut Liverpool apart but they are floundering currently in the league.
They have won only ONE of their last seven games in Serie A, and Gasperini admits that their long season is taking its toll.
His side are still involved in the European chase in the league, have reached the Europa League last eight and have a Coppa Italia semi-final second leg against Fiorentina to come.
“I don’t think Atalanta expected to be in all three tournaments in April,” he told Sky Sport Italia.
“We started with a squad that expected to have a good season, but this one has gone beyond expectations in every competition.
“It is also worth noting that in our last 12 games, eight of them have been away from home. It has been a very intense period with a lot of travel, we also had a run of seeing Inter, Milan, Juventus, Bologna, Napoli, so we hoped to improve our tally today against Verona, but it didn’t work out like that.
“We decided not to favour one tournament over another, we will try to do our best in them all. We’ll see how it goes, but some of our players are like Highlander, they keep going.”
The manager also admitted that he is concerned about the return leg against Jurgen Klopp’s team, particularly given Liverpool’s pedigree of upsetting the odds in Europe, even though his side are three goals clear.
“We saw tonight that Verona were able to score two goals in four minutes. I’ve seen Liverpool score three in six minutes in a Champions League final against Milan!
“We knew after Anfield it wasn’t over, but Thursday will be an historic appointment for the city, the club and our players.
“We know another great performance is needed, but the objective is so prestigious that we’ll find the energy.”
