XABI ALONSO ADMITTED his Bayer Leverkusen side deserved to lose the Europa League final in Dublin, having seen their unbeaten season ended in its 52nd and penultimate game by Atalanta in Dublin.
Ademola Lookman’s hat-trick earned a famous win for Atalanta: their first European title and first major trophy of any kind since 1963.
Alonso, who has led Leverkusen to the Bundesliga title and the German Cup final this weekend, admitted that his side were outfought by Atalanta tonight, having lost too many one v one duels.
“Atalanta were better than us this evening, they deserved to win”, said Alonso at his post-game press conference. “We weren’t able to play as we wished tonight. After the first goal they showed energy and we couldn’t counteract that. We had been prepared for one v one duels over the pitch but were unable to impose ourselves and weren’t able to fashion goalscoring opportunities.
“It is very demanding to play Atalanta, with lot of duels. They are very physical, and we were not able to overcome this first pressure and get in good positions. When we had overloads and when we had a bit of advantage, they got back into position very quickly, and we couldn’t give last pass with a bit of space. They were very intense.”
Alonso must now deal with the ripple effects of a first defeat of the season ahead of the German Cup final against Kaiserslautern on Saturday.
“We have to deal with this pain in a positive way”, said Alonso, “to form good energy in the next game. Normality is not to lose the 52nd game of the season, it has been exceptional what we have achieved. But today is painful but it is deserved as well.”
Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini toasted his side’s underdog success.
“We have done this while making sure we balance the books and turn a profit: that is exceptional about this club”, said Gasperini. “Typically the clubs in Europe and in Italy that are winning, they struggle to keep costs down. Atalanta have won things while being financially stable club: that is extraordinary.
“Winning with Atalanta is one of those footballing fairytales that rarely crop up. It gives scope for meritocracy: there is still scope for ideas and doesn’t have to come down to cold, hard money.”
