Maurizio Sarri praised Franck Kessie's personality after the midfielder opened the scoring in Atalanta's 3-1 win over Venezia , ending a run of three straight defeats.
With quotes via TuttoMercatoWeb , the Atalanta coach was speaking at his post-match press conference at the New Balance Arena, while Kessie spoke to DAZN.
Kessie returned to Atalanta this summer after five seasons with Milan earlier in his career. He lobbed Filip Stankovic for his first Serie A goal since coming back, and Sarri highlighted his influence beyond the pitch.
"He's a lad with great personality, and you could see that on the pitch. Lads like that are rare, and that's an important detail in the dressing room."
BERGAMO, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 12: Frank Kessie of Atalanta BC reacts during the Serie A match between Atalanta BC and Parma Calcio at Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia on September 12, 2026 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
The Ivorian played down his own contribution: "We're happy with the win, as we were coming off three defeats. It was important and we did it. It's not easy with the new formation, but we have to listen to the coach and give everything. It's always nice to score, but for me the team matters. I'm happy to help, just as I'm happy for Krstovic, who can gain confidence. Returning to San Siro? Always ready."
BERGAMO, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 12: Atalanta BC coach Maurizio Sarri looks on during the Serie A match between Atalanta BC and Parma Calcio at Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia on September 12, 2026 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
Atalanta led 3-0 inside half an hour through Kessie and a Nikola Krstovic double, but Sarri was frustrated by how the second half went.
"We played a first half of a high level. In the second half we stopped pressing them in their half, and at certain moments we paid for it. We were sloppy playing out from the back and left them the upper hand, and in the final minutes we weren't very clean either. I didn't think it was that bad, though. In fact, when the sending-off happened, the team came alive. We need to be braver."
He also criticised Eljif Elmas, who was sent off late on after VAR upgraded his yellow card, which rules him out of Sunday's trip to Milan.
"That's how it went. He could have avoided going in like that at the end with that reckless challenge."
Raoul Bellanova and Giorgio Scalvini were both forced off midway through the second half: "Bellanova has pain in his glute. Scalvini needs to be assessed."
Sarri started with a 4-2-3-1 and picked Krstovic ahead of Gianluca Scamacca, and he explained both decisions.
"It's an alternative for us, but then we went back to the 4-3-3. I wanted more depth up front, and obviously I chose Elmas to give more balance."
He was less effusive about Jonathan Rowe: "He did well for 60 minutes, then faded. In my opinion, he has a lot of room for improvement."
With Pafos up next in the Conference League on Thursday, Sarri wants his side to take the first-half approach into the game.
"We have to try to be in control of the game for long spells. The attitude in the first half was right. As for substitutions, if we'd made it 4-1 I'd have made several changes."
