Gasperini: ‘Only a win’ is enough for Atalanta, but Barcelona ‘test’ more important | OneFootball

Gian Piero Gasperini is aware of the fact that Atalanta require a win away against Barcelona to guarantee themselves a spot in the top eight of the Champions League standings, but insists that he is more interested in the ‘test’ that Hansi Flick’s side will provide, which will give an indication as to where Atalanta are in comparison to the rest of Europe’s top sides.

Every team involved in the Champions League will be in action at the same time on Wednesday night. 18 matches will be played simultaneously to determine the final standings of the league phase table.

While Atalanta are targeting a victory away in Catalonia, they also have important fixtures coming up in both Serie A and the quarter-final of the Coppa Italia.

Atalanta players pose for a team photograph prior to the Coppa Italia match between Atalanta and Cesena at Allianz Stadium on December 18, 2024 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Gasperini: Barcelona will help Atalanta ‘understand how competitive we are’

“Seven days is not a lot of time. Barcelona tomorrow, but Serie A and the Coppa Italia coming up too. Three different events played very closely together. I think the best thing to do is to take them one at a time,” Gasperini said at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday night.

The Atalanta boss then gave his thoughts on the Champions League standings.

Atalanta currently sit in 7th place with 14 points from seven matches, but six teams below them are on 13 points, which means they will likely require a win against Barca to finish in the top eight by the end of Wednesday night.

“You don’t think about where you are in the Champions League or Serie A standings,” Gasperini said.

“Tomorrow is its own game, we’ll play against Barcelona for the first time: Of all the big teams across Europe, they were the ones that we hadn’t played yet. It will be great to see given how they’ve played and the scoring ability they’ve shown this year.

“It’s always a good way to measure yourself against this sort of team, to understand how competitive we are, how much difficulty we will be put under and how we can frustrate a great team.”

Lazar Samardzic of Atalanta celebrates scoring his team’s sixth goal with teammate Mateo Retegui during the Coppa Italia match between Atalanta and Cesena at Allianz Stadium on December 18, 2024 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Gasperini continued: “The standings are how they are. Everyone is trying to figure out what can happen. We know that we’re in the play-offs already, we’ve earned that by having a great journey so far. We could have had an extra point or two looking back at Celtic, Real Madrid, Arsenal. Personally, the way the schedule has been, I’m satisfied with how we played against Real and Arsenal.

“The only result that guarantees us a spot in the top eight is a win. Not even a draw will be enough. Having said that, it is more important to me that we play in this sort of game and measure ourselves against this type of team.”

Gasperini gives assessment on Flick and Barcelona

Eric Garcia of FC Barcelona celebrates scoring his team’s fourth goal with teammates during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD7 match between SL Benfica and FC Barcelona at Estadio do SL Benfica on January 21, 2025 in Lisbon, Portugal. (Photo by Alex Pantling – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

Gasperini went on to give his assessment of Barcelona and the project lead by Hansi Flick: “This is a team that Flick has built in the best way. But Barcelona always has a strong identity and are able to identify very young talents who turn out to be champions.

“I also respect the characteristics of the Spanish players, who have speed, sharpness and great technique. Ours has become a physical system despite being in a Mediterranean country.”

Spanish journalists asked Gasperini which Barcelona player he would like to have in his Atalanta team in a hypothetical world, but the Dea coach managed to dodge the question with a witty response of his own: “We don’t buy, we sell. You tell us who you would like from us.”