Palladino: ‘A magical night for Atalanta’ with 2-1 victory over Chelsea

Raffaele Palladino asked for the perfect performance from Atalanta and feels he got it in a ‘magical night’ against Chelsea, setting them up for a top 8 Champions League finish.

La Dea had gone behind to the Joao Pedro goal, which was originally flagged offside until VAR confirmed Reece James was level on the assist, but Charles De Ketelaere provided the assist for a Gianluca Scamacca header, then scored the second himself with the aid of a deflection off Malo Gusto.

Palladino wanted to see a strong response from his team after their 3-1 Serie A defeat to Verona at the weekend, and he certainly got that.

“I am very happy, because it was a magical evening in front of our fans. We played against a very strong opponent, I was impressed by their technical quality and pace. This gives extra value to our victory and confirms what we are worth too,” Palladino told Sky Sport Italia.

“As I told them in the centre circle, we cannot be this inconsistent. I want to believe Verona was just a slip-up, as we need this Atalanta spirit and DNA in every single game. They were perfect tonight, we only had a day to prepare for the match, and I thank them.

“This type of performance and result can really boost your self-belief, but now we have to focus on the next Serie A match.”

It is a huge night for Atalanta in Bergamo, and puts them above Inter in the Champions League table on 13 points from six rounds ahead of the final two games in January.

“Unfortunately, I’ve been here for a month and we’ve played every two or three days, so I didn’t have much time to work in training. We tried to press the right buttons for what the team was looking for, and they reacted well,” added Palladino.

“We must climb back up the Serie A table, as it is within our capabilities to do it. I also want to thank those who were on the bench today and didn’t play, like Brescianini, Samardzic, Hien and Maldini, who are all very important and still helped prepare the game. I will try to give them an opportunity soon, as this victory belongs to the whole squad.”

Palladino had spent some of his time off after leaving Fiorentina and before taking the Atalanta job visiting training grounds to study the work of other coaches, including Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea.

“I studied Chelsea in London when I spent time there, so they have great pace and can move the ball around in different ways, so they are a complete squad. I asked my lads for a perfect performance and they gave it to me,” added the coach.

“Kossounou, Kolasinac and Djimsiti held out in the one-on-one situations, Ahanor did well too when he came on. We showed courage, because if you sit too deep, Chelsea will pass it around you, so we preferred to attack them. It’s what Atalanta have always done and will always do.”

Atalanta are remarkably the top Italian team in the Champions League table now, and could be aiming for direct qualification to the Round of 16.

“I had not seen the table, but I am genuinely focused only on our Serie A table. We’ve got to realise we’re too far back and what we saw against Verona last Saturday must never happen again. I know it’s not easy to always have this attitude, but we must maintain the way we approached it tonight,” concluded Palladino.

“To finish in the top eight would be extraordinary, but we’ve got to focus on Serie A now.”

He promised his players a reward if they also beat Cagliari this weekend, so what is their prize?

“The only reward for players is time off, because they’ve got everything else.”