Palladino: ‘Magical night for Atalanta, the turning point we needed’

Raffaele Palladino believes Atalanta had a ‘perfect and magical evening’ beating Roma 1-0 and sees this as ‘the turning point we needed’ this season.

The atmosphere in the New Balance Arena was inevitably emotional with the return of Gian Piero Gasperini, who was Palladino’s mentor and spent nine years in Bergamo as coach.

Giorgio Scalvini rose to meet a corner to open the scoring, while there was controversy when Gianluca Scamacca’s goal was disallowed for an offside in the build-up, which did not appear to be interfering with play.

“Undoubtedly, it was a perfect and magical evening for us, one that the squad and club really wanted, to start 2026 on the right foot,” Palladino told Sky Sport Italia.

“Roma had the best defensive record in Serie A and an excellent coach, but we played a real Atalanta performance, with intensity and courage. That is what I had asked for, what we prepared, and I am very proud of my lads. They earned this victory.”

Sead Kolasinac went off in the first half with a knock to the left knee, while Scalvini also sustained a muscular issue, but the big surprise was Nicola Zalewski in a more advanced role.

“I got a strong response from everyone today. I believe in meritocracy. We lost Kamaldeen Sulemana a couple of days ago to a bruised knee, so Zalewski put himself at our disposal there and did well,” explained Palladino.

“Everyone who came on like Ahanor, Hien and Musah did well, Bernasconi was excellent and De Roon was so focused after an early yellow card. The only regret is that we didn’t score the second goal, but it was enjoyable to win while suffering too.”

Check the Football Italia Player Ratings for Atalanta 1-0 Roma

La Dea secured their first win of the season against one of the Serie A big guns, having struggled in recent weeks during these high-profile matches.

“We started really strong with a lot of intensity and physicality, really pinning Roma back. I think in the first half, we absolutely deserved to score more goals,” continued Palladino.

“I honestly didn’t understand why the Scamacca goal was disallowed. In any case, we knew there could be a dip in intensity after the break, allowing Roma more of the ball, but we were prepared and hardly ran any risks. The Giallorossi created practically nothing in attack.”

Gasperini was Palladino’s former coach and mentor, but there was tension between them on the touchline in the final minutes.

“These things happen on the pitch, we know each other well, he was my coach when I was a player. It was nothing major,” assured the Atalanta boss.

Palladino replaced Ivan Juric on November 11 and has transformed Atalanta, securing seven victories and three defeats in all competition.

“My desire is to take Atalanta back to where they belong, but when I inherited this team, we were in 13th place. We’re certainly in a better position than we were, but more importantly I feel that we are on the right track and tonight’s performance against a top opponent was the turning point we needed.

“Now we’re still trying to make up lost ground, we’re in the Champions League, Coppa Italia and Serie A, so we’ll give it our all in every tournament.”