After a midweek victory over Liverpool in the Champions League, La Dea could not translate their win in Europe to the domestic landscape.
Second half goals from Miguel Veloso and Mattia Zaccagnia were enough to inflict Atalanta’s third Serie A defeat of the season.
Atalanta have now won only one game in their last six league matches.
Gasperini believes his players are tired due to the number of games they have played so far this season, and pointed out to the recent international games as one of the factors.
“I think more than the Champions League, we pay for international duty. Because some players leave us, go around the world and return different players,” the former Genoa manager told DAZN after the game.
“Verona did very little, but enough to make the most of their chances. We created a lot of opportunities, some fatigue set in and also COVID reduced our options, so upfront we weren’t as sharp as in the rest of the team.”
“Verona are tough to play against because they attack and press you all over the pitch. Having said that, we were in control and pinning them back up until the penalty, which changed the game,” the Italian coach added.
“I am not satisfied with the result, as we threw away a great opportunity, but I am largely satisfied with the performance. The team did what it was supposed to, up to a point.”
