Marten de Roon is normally always tweets sharp after an Atalanta Bergamo match, but after the league match against Sassuolo, the head of the Orange international was not looking forward to that, to say the least. So great were the frustrations over the defeat.
Atalanta lost its first Serie A match of 2023 on Saturday evening due to a hit by Armand Laurienté, who hit the far corner in the 55th minute after passing Hans Hateboer. The visitors from Bergamo were already down to ten men at that time, because Joakim Maehle was sent off in the first half for a tackle that had initially only resulted in a yellow card. Substitute Luís Muriel was also sent off in extra time for commenting on the lead.
Trainer Gian Piero Gasperini was so angry afterwards that he refused to speak to the media. De Roon seemed to agree with his trainer, as witnessed by the tweet he sent out afterwards. “Too frustrated to come up with a decent caption.” Atalanta director Umberto Marino did appear on camera and acknowledged that the atmosphere in the dressing room was restless. “This is reminiscent of last season, when there were 12-13 incidents that affected our pursuit of European football. They turned out to be decisive in the end.’
The fact that Maehle was now sent off the field while also playing the ball was the main source of frustration for Atalanta. “I thought the refereeing was on the mend this season, they realized that tackle belongs in football. This feels like two steps back,” Marino continued to Sky Sport Italia . “The referee sees it happening right in front of him and judges it. And then the VAR calls him to the screen, when there is no reason for it. This is not an obvious error. That’s where our anger is.’
