Palladino: ‘I don’t have a magic wand’ to transform Atalanta

Raffaele Palladino insists he ‘doesn’t have a magic wand’ after transforming Atalanta in their 2-0 victory over Fiorentina.

Odilon Kossounou opened the scoring with a wayward cross-shot, before Ademola Lookman sealed the 2-0 result, the first Atalanta Serie A victory since mid-September, ending an eight-game winless streak.

“It has been a good week, with a victory in the Champions League and a win here in Serie A, which had been missing for a while,” Palladino told Sky Sport Italia.

“We were up against an opponent that is alive and kicking today, who really wanted to get a result, but we showed patience and created many scoring opportunities,” continued Palladino.

“There was the risk of conceding, but our forwards were clinical. I saw what I expected, and now we must continue like this.”

Since taking over from sacked Ivan Juric, there have been marked improvements, losing 3-1 to Napoli, but then winning 3-0 away to Eintracht Frankfurt and 2-0 with Fiorentina.

“The credit is down to the lads, I simply brought my ideas and tactical principles. When there is a change of coach, inevitably the mood in the group isn’t the best, so I tried to create a dialogue, even friendship, and showed every player they had responsibility.

“I spoke to everyone, but if there wasn’t already a strong group here, I wouldn’t have seen such a quick response,” explained Palladino.

“I don’t have a magic wand, I just tried to give an identity to this team. The lads all feel fully involved, and I like that spirit. This is the mentality and the DNA of Atalanta that I want to see.

“We took risks today, but I appreciated the courage of the squad.”