Maurizio Sarri's first competitive match in charge of Atalanta produced no goals and, by his own admission, no shortage of problems. The Nerazzurri were held 0-0 at home by Hapoel Tel Aviv in the first leg of their Europa Conference League play-off on Thursday, and afterwards the Italian coach did not hide from the most obvious explanation.
"Hapoel Tel Aviv were better than us physically," Sarri said, according to ONE, pinpointing the gap that stopped Atalanta from turning their possession into chances against an Israeli side playing its first European campaign in more than a decade.
Sarri went further in diagnosing his team's sluggishness in the final third. "Every time we receive the ball we think, and that slows us down," he said, describing a Serie A squad still short of the fluency and automatisms he wants after replacing Ivan Juric over the summer.
It was not all bleak from the Atalanta bench. Sarri pointed to a defensive foundation already forming, noting his side have now kept a clean sheet in three straight matches heading into the new season proper.
He also singled out several young players for praise even amid the frustration in attack, name-checking centre-back Giorgio Scalvini, right-back Odilon Kossounou and defender Rasmus Kristensen as players still developing but already contributing.
Sarri was careful to frame the draw in context, stressing that this Atalanta squad remains a work in progress. "We don't yet have everything we need to aim higher," he said, a reminder that his rebuild in Bergamo is only a few weeks old.
For Hapoel Tel Aviv, the goalless draw away to a Serie A club represents a genuinely strong result and continues an eye-catching run through the qualifying rounds that included a win over Ludogorets to reach the play-off stage.
The tie is not finished, though the return leg will not be played in Israel. Because Hapoel Tel Aviv cannot currently host UEFA matches at home for security reasons, the second leg is scheduled for August 27 at the DVTK Stadium in Miskolc, Hungary, with a place in the Conference League league phase on the line.
