La Dea put themselves back in the race to finish in the top four and return to the Champions League as they began the final eight-round sprint with a 3-0 win in Lecce.
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Giorgio Scalvini opened the scoring in the first half at the Stadio Via del Mare, followed by Nikola Krstovic and Giacomo Raspadori, while Marco Carnesecchi never had to make a save.
Palladino believes in the return of Atalanta
LECCE, ITALY – APRIL 6: Raffaele Palladino Atalanta BC head coach during the Serie A match between US Lecce and Atalanta BC at Stadio Via del Mare on April 6, 2026 in Lecce, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)
“This was a match with many hidden dangers, since the first one after the break for international duty is always complicated to get everyone back together,” Palladino told DAZN Italia.
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“It wasn’t easy to prepare for this, both teams also struggled with the heat because the temperature changes, so the passes were too predictable.
“We adapted as time went by and did well attacking space. I am satisfied with the performance, another clean sheet also gives confidence to the defense.”
“It was the first of eight finals, now we must continue climbing that mountain.”
LECCE, ITALY – APRIL 6: Giacomo Raspadori of Atalanta BC celebrates after scoring his team’s third goal during the Serie A match between US Lecce and Atalanta BC at Stadio Via del Mare on April 6, 2026 in Lecce, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)
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If playing in the Champions League and finishing in the top four seemed unlikely when Palladino replaced Ivan Juric in November, the situation is very different now.
Atalanta are five points adrift of fourth place after Como drew 0-0 at Udinese today.
“We expected Lecce to be aggressive, as this was a decisive match for them, so I liked the maturity shown by my team in facing that strong initial approach,” Palladino continued.
“We let them run on the wings with Banda and Pierotti, but we blocked the channels with quality, technique and dynamism.”
After being eliminated from the Champions League round of 16 by Bayern Munich, Atalanta are still in the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, having drawn the first leg 2-2 with Lazio.
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“Now we have two head-to-head matches, in addition to the Coppa Italia semi-final, so I asked the team to raise the bar. Everyone is really involved in this fight,” the coach continued.
“Our DNA is to attack and defend together, the players know how much I care that everyone contributes in both phases. We need altruism in the final third to find the player in the best position to score, I saw some of that today and we could have won by a bigger margin.”
It’s not just Como’s draw that represented a boost for Atalanta, but Roma’s 5-2 defeat to Inter also means La Dea is one point behind his former manager Gian Piero Gasperini in sixth place.
“Obviously, those results were positive for us, I tried to keep the guys focused on our own path. I asked them to finish this path giving everything, then we’ll see where we end up,” Palladino concluded.