Goals from Marquinhos, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Nuno Mendes and Goncalo Ramos sealed a comprehensive victory for PSG over Atalanta. The result came despite goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi saving a penalty from Bradley Barcola, awarded after Yunus Musah fouled Marquinhos inside the box. PSG’s dominance was reflected in the statistics, registering 13 shots on target compared to Atalanta’s two.
Juric summed up the gulf in quality, saying: “I think the difference was huge. We did very well after the first goal, but it’s clear that they are at a much higher level than us.
“I think we’re missing four players who have a very important specific weight. I take a lot of positive cues from this match because I’ve seen players who can play at this level. With time and with the recovery of the injured players, we’ll be competitive again.”
Finally he defended his choice to play an attacking formation, adding: “Honestly, we analysed them carefully. We’ve seen that those who play at the back always lose badly. The only ones who have done well against them are those who have gone and conceded high goals.”
Juric took charge of Atalanta at the start of the season, replacing Gian Piero Gasperini. In their opening three Serie A fixtures, Atalanta have managed just one win alongside two draws. While Juric is already under pressure to deliver results, he will take encouragement from the return of forwardAdemola Lookman, whose proposed move to Inter collapsed, leading to his reintegration into the squad.
Atalanta and Juric will look to get back to winning ways when they take on his former team Torino on Sunday while hoping he gets back players from injury.
