"(Marco) Carnesecchi made two incredible saves on Nico Gonzalez, he's a great goalkeeper, and clearly at this level you are up against champions," Italiano told Mediaset.
Our first half was excellent, we never allowed Atalanta to get a foothold in the game, then Scamacca came on and held the ball up better. The first round is in our favour, we needed a victory after a difficult period, the team responded well and we are confident going into the second match.
Even if we had scored another goal, I remain convinced the second leg would be very tough, as Atalanta can pin you back in your own half. We take the victory and know we need an extraordinary match, especially as there is a Final up for grabs."
He also said: We wanted to stretch them out and make them work harder, as otherwise Lookman and Koopmeiners can run at you and cause problems. When the strikers start the press, that inspires all the others too. We knew we had to be aggressive and win the ball back quickly.
There is so much at stake, we would've been happy with any win and the 1-0 is satisfactory."