Stromberg told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "At Anfield I saw the best team in Europe play in person. But rarely have I witnessed a match like the one in the first leg. That courage and intensity are not easy to find when you face Liverpool. It will be risky, some might think, but it's the only way to compete with the Reds at home.
"It (tonight) will have to be like the first leg, in football you never know. Many fans in recent days have stopped me on the streets and in the shops of Bergamo to ask me if qualification for the semi-final is now a done deal. I think we should have I still have respect for Liverpool, we must always have it. Respect that must not turn into fear, but courage. Before the first leg I said 20%, now 70%.
"It (Atalanta) now has its own European dimension. They know what it means to play against the Goddess and what it means to come and play in Bergamo. If the club and the team exist on the map of international football it is due to the Percassi family and Gasperini. Both have given mentality and the structure to compete at these levels."
On Gianluca Scamacca, he added: "I always defended him when West Ham bought him. The English critics were dubious. He has class inside and Gasperini is making him perform at his best."