“You know what we say in Italy, go to hell.”
Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini has revealed that he jokingly told Cristiano Ronaldo to ‘go to hell’ after the Manchester United striker scored in added-time to deny the Italians all three points on Tuesday night.
The Portugal captain scored both goals in the Red Devils’ 2-2 draw against Atalanta – including a spectacular 92nd minute equaliser – to ensure that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men remained top of Group F.
Following a lengthy VAR review, it was confirmed that Duván Zapata’s 56th minute goal would stand, with the home side defending their lead well as it looked as though they were about to secure a famous victory against United.
However, with just a few minutes remaining in Bergamo, Ronaldo followed up his first-half strike with a stunning volley to steal a point right at the death.
It was understandably devastating for both Atalanta and their manager Gasperini, but the Italian insisted that there is no bad blood between him and the former Juventus man.
Ronaldo bails Ole out again with an insanely good finish pic.twitter.com/GPNcMRTB6p
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) November 2, 2021
After the final whistle, the pair were seen arm in arm, with the 63-year-old revealing that he had shared a joke with Ronaldo as he continued to praised the Portuguese international.
“At the end of the match, I spoke with Ronaldo,” the Atalanta manager told Sky Italia. “He’s an incredible player, some even call him a problem.
“That’s a nice problem to have. He rarely gets it off target; half the time he scores, half the time it is saved.
“In the end I said to him, ‘You know what we say in Italy, go to hell.'”
Gasperini added: “Cristiano is just incredible. If there is anyone you want a chance to fall to… and it’s a difficult chance.
“He keeps his eye on the ball and his technique on that volley is incredible.”
The 36-year-old’s late heroics came just two weeks after he scored another late winner against Atalanta to complete United’s 3-2 comeback win at Old Trafford.
Related links:
- Howard Webb admits wanting Ronaldo to miss penalty after realising mistake
- Patrice Evra claims Ronaldo left Juventus because they made him a ‘scapegoat’
- Cristiano Ronaldo announces his girlfriend is pregnant with twins
