Atalanta manager Raffaele Palladino conveyed his apologies after a 3-2 loss to Cagliari dashed their hopes of a top-six finish. He also addressed his future, stating, “I am not bound by contracts and money; I strive to be ambitious.”
The team, still reeling from their Coppa Italia semi-final penalty shootout elimination to Lazio the previous week and the considerable physical exertion involved, appeared fatigued. Their match against Cagliari began disastrously as teenager Paul Mendy scored within 16 seconds, and he doubled their lead just seven minutes later.
Gianluca Scamacca’s brace brought the score level at 2-2 by halftime. However, Gennaro Borrelli netted the decisive goal for Cagliari in the opening minute of the second half.
Palladino Expresses Frustration with Atalanta’s Performance
“We conceded a goal when we were practically still in the locker room,” Palladino admitted to DAZN Italia. “Starting like that deflates you. We were unable to regain our physical and mental energy after the Coppa Italia. It’s evident when you’re a goal down within 30 seconds. I had hoped the players would turn things around today, but we didn’t, and we apologize to the fans for our performance.”
“We wanted to keep our European hopes alive and failed to do so, so there are many regrets.”
Cagliari, meanwhile, showed strong motivation, with this victory placing them eight points clear of the relegation zone with four games remaining.
“They came out fighting from the start, but we did have a good reaction to equalize. Cagliari displayed a lot of aggression and intensity, but conceding the third goal immediately after the restart was simply foolish on our part.”
“After that, they defended deeply, and it became difficult to break them down, even though we had numerous scoring opportunities. I believe their goalkeeper was the Man of the Match; Elia Caprile was extraordinary.”
Palladino experimented with his lineup in the second half, deploying both Scamacca and Nikola Krstovic together, a tactic he suggested might be seen more in the future.
“It’s an option for certain games. Today, we had many individual battles to fight, so we used two center-forwards.”
The coach has significantly improved Atalanta’s fortunes since taking over from Ivan Juric’s difficult start. However, it now appears they are on track to finish seventh in Serie A, which may not be sufficient for qualification to the Conference League.
“Since my arrival, we have climbed a mountain and had a great journey. We were in 13th place and still managed to compete for a European spot, but we expended a lot of energy chasing that over many months,” Palladino added.
“When you are chasing, you cannot afford a single mistake, and when you do, it feels like the world is collapsing around you. These players have had to deal with many setbacks since the start of the campaign, so now we are a bit short on mental and physical energy.”
“I had hoped we could hit the reset button after the Coppa Italia, but it’s not easy after only 4-5 days. Unfortunately, the gap is quite large now, but we will continue to fight until the last day.”
Palladino was appointed to replace Juric in mid-November. Regarding his future with Atalanta, he commented:
“I am happy at Atalanta. I tried to do my best. I am not bound by contracts and money; I strive to be very ambitious and want to do my best until the end of the season for this club.”