Nicolo Zaniolo may be experiencing a new lease of life at Atalanta, but Gian Piero Gasperini still isn’t happy.
The former Roma and Inter forward scored yet another crucial goal for his side, coming after key strikes in wins over Stuttgart and his old club Roma.
This time it was the matchwinner against Cagliari, and the only goal of the game in a 1-0 victory which further extends the Europa League champion‘s Serie A lead.
However, what happened after was completely unnecessary, at least in the eyes of Gasperini.
Zaniolo converted the ball brilliantly with a one-time finish from a Raoul Bellanova dink into the box, and then sprinted down the byline screaming towards the home Cagliari crowd.
Turning at the corner flag, he lept and pumped his fist before letting out another shout.
It was yet another passionate celebration after Zaniolo took off his shirt against former club Roma, and Gasperini was even more angry than the first time.
“It is intolerable that every time he scores he sets the opposing crowd on fire,” the 66-year-old said.
“It is already the second time that this has happened. Cagliari as a team were stunned, but then he rekindled the whole stadium with his exuberance.”
The result means Atalanta are now on a 10-game winning run in Serie A and have a five-point lead over teams below them that have games in hand.
There is already talk of a first-ever Scudetto, but Gasperini dismissed it, and again maybe sent a jibe towards Zaniolo.
“Part of the team is not ready,” he said. “We are not ready with everyone to reach important goals.
“The others need to be pulled along by those who are already ready. To get to the end, maturity is needed from everyone.”
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