Atalanta experienced an extraordinary increase in performance under Gasperini leadership, he succeeded in formulating a strategy to beat Xabi Alonso tactics, who has been unbeatable throughout this season. Atalanta victory not only made Gasperini the only coach capable of beating Leverkusen, but he also managed to lift the first UEL trophy in his coaching career. Gasperini will face a bigger challenge next season after leading Atalanta to qualify for the Champions League, hopefully he will continue his career with Atalanta to continue the success story as achieved this season.
Actually, I saw that Gasperini already had a tactic to beat Leverkusen because I saw the same tactic used against Liverpool in the second leg. Gasperini knew that Leverkusen did not have very good individual quality, therefore he used high pressure man to man marking, making it very difficult for the Leverkusen players and unable to build the game. Despite having 67% possession of the ball, Leverkusen only had 3 additions to the target. Atalanta has a solid defense like other Italian teams. And the high-pressure man-to-man marking strategy is something that is often used against teams in Serie A.
However, this strategy has a clear weakness, namely if the opponent is a club with great individual quality then this strategy will only create lots of gaps in the space between the lines which will become empty because each player marks his opponent. I think if Madrid manages to win the UCL then the Real Madrid vs Atalanta match will be a very interesting match to watch.