The result sees Atalanta qualify for the knockout phase.
“We needed this; we just couldn’t manage to win in 2025 so far, and it came at the right time,” Gasperini told Sky Italia after the match.
“We’ve had a good run, despite a tough schedule that included hosting Arsenal and Real Madrid. Tonight, we wanted to close it out.
“In the first half, we didn’t do very well technically, but then we controlled the game. Already being in the top 24 is a great achievement, which wasn’t guaranteed at the start.”
Gasperini also said: “Boldness is good, as long as we don’t lose humility.
“We’re playing against a very strong team, and we also have a league with very tough matches. We’re playing with great intensity, but in any case, we’ll go to Barcelona to give our best, as we always do.
“These are games of such prestige. We haven’t faced Barcelona in recent years. I don’t know if that means we’re lucky, considering we’ve faced all of Europe’s top teams. For us, it will be a huge motivation.
“We’ll see how the two league matches before it go. Rotating players doesn’t mean we don’t want to win. In Riyadh, I made three changes to players who had starred against Roma, but it seemed like we went there not to play.
“In many matches, you have to make the most of a deep squad, as we did tonight.”