Gian Piero Gasperini believes Atalanta have what it takes to cause another upset when they face Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday. (More Football News)
Atalanta shocked Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final back in May, ending the Bundesliga champions' season-long unbeaten run with an🦄 emphatic 3-0 victory.
They also pulled off an impressive victory over Liverpool in the quarter-final en route to just their second major trophy, a♉nd first in Europe, as they well and truly lived up to their underdog status.
Now, with Champions League winners Madrid on 🐬the horizon, Gasperini backed his team to put in ano꧂ther big performance to flip the script once more.
"On paper, we're even more of an underdog than we were against Leverkusen, who were c🌺oming into the [Europa League final] unbeaten in an entire season," Gasperini told a press conference on Tuesdayᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ.
"Real Madrid wil🌞l be 🥀an even greater hurdle but that means we're even more motivated. It doesn't happen often, but you can overturn the odds in football."
Atalanta do have selection problems ahead of the meeting in Warsaw though, with striker Gianluca Scamacca, who scored six goals in the Eur൲opa League last season, set to be o🍌ut for six months after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in a pre-season friendly.
They are also wit🐓hout Teun Koopmeiners, who is reportedly set to join Juventus, and Gasperini admitted it did make things harder not having a full squad at his disposal.
"I🐟t's clear that you'd like to go into such a game with a full squad and play your best players to get to the top of your game," Gasperini said.
"But even when we went to Liverpool or other [top] teams, a𝔉nd we often found ourselves with some difficulties, I always ask🍨ed the guys to play a good game, without thinking of who's there or who's not there."
