The Serie A side took the lead in the 27th minute through former Chelsea man Mario Pasalic and were on course to secure a place in the competition’s semi-final before the French champions capitalized on Atalanta’s lapse in concentration to score two goals in two minutes.
Marquinhos pulled parity for Thomas Tuchel’s men as the game entered stoppage time before former Stoke City and Schalke 04 forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting delivered the coupe de grace to send the Parisians to the last four.
Speaking after the game, Gasperini admitted conceding two late goals hurt more than PSG winning earlier as his side were so close to securing a famous victory in Portugal.
“The biggest regret is that we got so close and thought we really might achieve this extraordinary coup,” the Italian coach told Sky Sport Italia.
“The satisfaction remains that we had a great Champions League campaign, constantly improving against the best teams in Europe. I can only thank the lads for all they’ve done this season.
“It’s disappointing because we came so close. There are some of the best players in the world, Mbappe and Neymar, who at a certain point really sparked them into life.
“We could’ve conceded earlier, in a way that might’ve been better, as conceding in stoppages hurts more. We did all we possibly could, at the end of a very difficult and exhausting run of fixtures, so I can only thank the lads.
“The Champions League is a very special competition and I read a while back Jose Mourinho said it was the competition of details. Details make the difference when games are so balanced and can go one way or the other.
“Despite everything, we reached the 90th minute in the lead. We were certainly well-prepared on set plays, there was that Berat Djimsiti chance, and could’ve done better on a couple of counter-attacks, but again, these are all details.”
