Maurizio Sarri admits Atalanta ‘feared’ the clash with Frosinone and were ultimately content with the 4-4 draw after a wild encounter. ‘Considering the situation, we have to accept it.’
La Dea had gone behind within 30 seconds, then turned it around to lead 3-2 by half-time in a chaotic match at the New Balance Arena.
Romano Schmid and Nikola Krstovic bagged a brace apiece, with an Ederson penalty, Giacomo Calò, Eljif Elmas, and eventually Aleksa Terzic equaliser for 4-4.
Sarri and Atalanta shaken
“Clearly we are going through a difficult period for a thousand reasons,” Sarri told DAZN Italia.
“We gifted two goals, yet we got back into the game and threatened to take all three points. We’ve played three games in the last 10 days, though it felt more like four games. The team held out under pressure, some incidents could’ve knocked the wind out of our sails.
“Considering the current period of form and situation, we have to accept this result.”
Sarri’s sides tend to dominate possession, but they struggled to pass through Massimiliano Alvini’s Frosinone, who have been a revelation after their promotion from Serie B over the summer.
“It is hard to pass the ball cleanly against a side like Frosinone, so it can turn into a more direct match. We feared this fixture, because Frosinone were fresher and have a very troublesome way of playing,” noted Sarri.
“We gifted them two goals, plus there were two great strikes from them. Don’t forget, Como are the best passing side in Serie A, and they lost 2-0 to Frosinone.
“Passing it around in our own half against them can be dangerous, we allowed ourselves to be invited by the enormous spaces they left for us. We did show a certain defensive fragility.”
Atalanta continue to struggle amid an injury crisis, and it got even worse today when Raoul Bellanova limped off with a new muscular issue.
They were already missing Sead Kolasinac, Giorgio Scalvini, Isak Hien, Odilon Kossounou, Franck Kessie, Giacomo Raspadori and Kamaldeen Sulemana.