De Roon: ‘Atalanta can hurt Borussia Dortmund’ after 2-0 defeat
Marten De Roon insists Atalanta have learned from the 2-0 first leg Champions League play-off defeat and ‘can hurt’ Borussia Dortmund this evening.
It kicks off at the New Balance Arena in Bergamo at 17.45 GMT (18.45 CET).
La Dea left themselves with a tough task to overturn the first leg loss in Dortmund, which was decided by Serhou Guirassy and Maximilian Beier goals.
As the away goals rule has been abandoned, they need to win by a two-goal margin just to force extra time.
De Roon advice for Atalanta
“We need to leave fewer spaces, we were caught out with a few long balls, and we need to close the gaps down, be more aggressive, more intense, and above all play the ball better. They have a high defensive line and we can hurt them,” De Roon told Sky Sport Italia.
Atalanta have faced Borussia Dortmund three times and never managed a victory, losing both trips to Germany and drawing 1-1 here in the Europa League in 2018.
“Dortmund are a very strong squad, I expect them to come here trying to win, not to just defend the result. We must push for 90 minutes along with our fans, hope to have a little bit of luck, but mainly courage to score some goals here,” added De Roon.
“We know the fans in Bergamo well, I am sure they will push us on for 90 minutes with their pride to be here playing in the Champions League against Borussia Dortmund. They will be the 12th man.”
The mood was boosted in Serie A at the weekend by a comeback win over Napoli, where they had been trailing 1-0 only to emerge 2-1 winners.