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Atalanta are excited to experience the stadium atmosphere at Anfield for the first time when they face Liverpool in the opening leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday, manager Gian Piero Gasperini said.
The sides met in 2020 in the Champions League group stage, but when Atalanta won 2-0 at Anfield there were no spectators present due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“They are a very strong team, tomorrow we will face each other in this wonderful stadium compared to what happened three and a half years ago with the public. We’ve earned it,” Gasperini told a press conference on Wednesday.
“Football is for the public, especially when the crowd is enthusiastic and you win. The dramatic thing was playing in empty stadiums, as happened for over a year.”
Since that last meeting, players have come and gone from both sides, but Gasperini and Juergen Klopp are still in charge, and the Atalanta boss spoke of the legacy that the Liverpool manager will leave when he moves on at the end of this season.
“We have three or four players left compared to the 2020 game, with them maybe there are a few more,” Gasperini said.
“They have renewed themselves, they have included young people, it is an example to follow.
“Klopp has always been exceptional in this, he has stated that he will leave but he will leave behind a renewed club for new goals.”
Atalanta are still involved in the Coppa Italia, where they lost the first leg of the semi-final 1-0 to Fiorentina.
They are sixth in Serie A, battling for a Champions League qualification place, but Gasperini said they would not prioritise any competition.
“We don’t make choices, we play a quarter-final of the Europa League and try to do it to the best of our ability.”
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