Palladino: ‘Atalanta I want to see was in the 2nd half’

Raffaele Palladino wants to see ‘the glass half-full’ after Atalanta’s 3-1 defeat to Napoli on his debut. ‘The team in the second half is what I want to see.’

The coach said it was ‘destiny’ that he should make his debut on the Atalanta bench in his hometown of Naples, but it felt less like a dream and more of a nightmare when going into half-time 3-0 down.

David Neres bagged a brace and Noa Lang got the third at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in a dominant performance.

Things improved after a double substitution, as Gianluca Scamacca pulled one back with a spectacular volley and there were several opportunities to at least show some fight.

“We expected Napoli to start strong, they did really well to go man for man. We had put Pasalic in that position to draw the ball, but we didn’t put him in the right condition to help us with the passing and did not have a good first half,” Palladino told Sky Sport Italia.

“It’s disappointing, as the third goal was avoidable and we could’ve kept it open for longer. The second half was very positive, I liked the character of the reaction and that is the Atalanta I want to see. We had many chances to score 3-2, Napoli did well to close up.

“There are things we need to work on and others we can build on for the future.”

Check the Football Italia Player Ratings for Napoli 3-1 Atalanta

Scamacca was one of two substitutes at half-time and his presence seemed to transform the match after a False 9 failed to make an impact.

“Gianluca came on with the right spirit, I liked the attitude of the whole team in the second half. They acted as if the first half hadn’t happened, so we need to build on that courage and furore,” added Palladino.

“I have many positives to take from this game, I have several great strikers, and we can do well in future.”

Both the first two goals from David Neres were sparked by failed Atalanta attacks that broke down and left them unbalanced.

“I agree. We had very little time to work in training, I only got the full squad together on Thursday. We are a bit too open when in possession, the second and especially the third goal were avoidable, so we’ll work on those.

“However, we need to see the glass half-full right now and focus on the positive aspects to boost this team’s confidence.”

Under Gian Piero Gasperini, Atalanta were famous for their intensity and stamina, but that seems to be lacking so far this season.

“We need to work on those aspects too, as the team did a lot of hard physical work over the last few days, they know that you have to work hard with me. They are like soldiers, they’ve followed every order I gave and that is a good place to start from,” added Palladino.

Atalanta continue to slide down the Serie A standings, as they were only 13th going into the break for international duty and this was their third consecutive league defeat.

They are without a win in the last eight rounds domestically, since the 3-0 result away to Torino on September 21.