Palladino: ‘The first of 8 finals, Atalanta keep climbing that mountain’
Palladino: ‘The first of 8 finals, Atalanta keep climbing that mountain’ Raffaele Palladino was ‘satisfied’ with Atalanta’s 3-0 victory away to Lecce, which put them back in the race for the top four. ‘It was the first of eight finals, we’ll keep climbing that mountain. ’ La Dea put themselves right back in the race for a top four finish and return to the Champions League, as they started the final sprint of eight rounds with a 3-0 victory away to Lecce.
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 really had a save to make. Palladino believes in Atalanta comeback LECCE, ITALY – APRIL 06: Raffaele Palladino Atalanta BC head coach during the Serie A match between US Lecce and Atalanta BC at Stadio Via del Mare on April 06, 2026 in Lecce, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images) “This was a game with many hidden dangers, as the first after the break for international duty is always complicated to get everyone back together again,” Palladino told DAZN Italia.
“It wasn’t easy to prepare for this, the two teams also struggled with the heat as the temperature is changing, so that made the passing too predictable. “We adjusted as time went on and did well to attack the space. I’m satisfied with the performance, another clean sheet also gives confidence to the defence.
“It was the first of eight Finals, now we must continue our climb up that mountain. ” LECCE, ITALY – APRIL 06: Giacomo Raspadori of Atalanta BC celebrates after scoring his side third goal during the Serie A match between US Lecce and Atalanta BC at Stadio Via del Mare on April 06, 2026 in Lecce, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images) If Champions League football and a top four finish seemed improbable when Palladino took over from Ivan Juric in November, the situation is very different now.
Atalanta are within five points of fourth place after Como were held to a 0-0 draw by 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 dealing with that early strong approach,” continued Palladino. “We let them have their runs down the flanks with Banda and Pierotti, but blocked off the channels with quality, technique and dynamism.