Gasperini on Atalanta Scudetto: ‘If you believe, it can become possible’ | OneFootball

Gian Piero Gasperini admits ‘if you believe enough, things can become possible’ after Atalanta thrashed Juventus 4-0 to set up a Scudetto showdown with Inter. ‘It was the perfect performance.’

This was a huge fixture in Turin, with La Dea knowing they were only three points ahead of Juve and fresh from a deeply disappointing 0-0 draw with Venezia.

However, they put on a masterclass to emerge 4-0 winners with Mateo Retegui’s penalty, then Marten de Roon, Davide Zappacosta and Ademola Lookman sealing the result.

Gasperini had revitalised Thiago Motta’s playing career at Genoa and helped set him on his way to becoming a coach, but showed this evening that the master hasn’t been surpassed by the student yet.

“This is football. You go from victory to defeat and back again, but remember Juventus were coming off five wins in a row,” Gasperini told DAZN.

“It was an unimaginable result for many, but it was the perfect performance from us.”

Gasperini surprised Juventus in Turin

epa11952701 Juventus coach Thiago Motta and Atalanta coach Gimapiero Gasperini interact during the Italian Serie A soccer match Juventus FC vs Atalanta BC at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy, 09 Marrch 2025. EPA-EFE/ALESSANDRO DI MARCO

The veteran coach had surprised with the starting XI, using Juan Cuadrado wide right in the trident attack rather than Charles De Ketelaere or even trequartista Mario Pasalic, but the Colombian went off at half-time with a flexor issue.

“De Ketelaere had a long run of very good performances, he’s been dipping lately and that’s natural over the course of a campaign with over 40 games, there will be ups and downs. Cuadrado could make us a little more unpredictable, it is no coincidence he played at Juve for 10 years and he showed his quality this evening.”

Check the Football Italia Player Ratings for Juventus 0-4 Atalanta

Although the final score was 4-0, it could easily have been more, as Atalanta were moving the ball with pace and quality.

“Juventus had won five in a row, they had a lot of quality too. It is evident that after five months of playing three games a week, we finally got some time to train and also to recover. We finally had two ‘normal’ weeks and everyone was in the right condition, in terms of fitness, mentality and concentration,” explained Gasperini.

“We had chances to score more before half-time, then Juve lost confidence after the second goal and we made the most of it.”

The Scudetto race now remains wide open, because Atalanta are only three points behind leaders Inter, who they will host in Bergamo next week.

They also have the added benefit now of not being involved in the Champions League, unlike Inter, who welcome Feyenoord on Tuesday evening. So is it a pleasure or a duty for them to dream?

“It’s certainly a pleasure! People need to dream, we must never stop them dreaming. We may say it’s impossible, but if you believe enough, things can become possible. We know Inter and Napoli are two excellent teams, we have lost our last seven in a row against Inter, but that too might be a signal,” smiled Gasperini.

“Atalanta had never reached this stage of the season three points clear of Juventus, we had never reached this stage of the season in the running for the top spot, so you never know.”