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Raffaele Palladino insists Atalanta must not use their Champions League exploits as ‘an alibi’ for the defeat to 10-man Sassuolo. ‘The real regret was the second goal.’
It is not the first time that La Dea have suffered a Champions League hangover, as the incredible comeback from a 2-0 first leg deficit to eliminate Borussia Dortmund 4-1 on the night took a lot out of this squad.
Even then, they capitulated 2-1 to a Sassuolo side who were down to 10 men since the 16th minute, when Andrea Pinamonti saw red for a studs-up tackle.
Nonetheless, Ismael Koné and Kristian Thorstvedt turned in Armand Laurienté assists, with Yunus Musah’s late strike not enough to turn it around, as there were decisive Arijanet Muric fingertip saves in stoppages.
Palladino expected more from Atalanta
SASSUOLO, ITALY – MARCH 01: Raffaele Palladino head coach of Atalanta BC embraces Fabio Grosso head coach of US Sassuolo during the Serie A match between US Sassuolo Calcio and Atalanta BC at Mapei Stadium Citta del Tricolore on March 01, 2026 in Sassuolo, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)
“I don’t feel we lacked sharpness, because we took the right approach, so using the Champions League as an alibi is not right,” Palladino told DAZN Italia.
“We were in full control of the match, we had the right attitude, respected our opponents, but oddly after the red card it was Sassuolo who gained confidence. They started to defend deep and we struggled to break them down.
“We moved the ball around too slowly, didn’t go down the wings enough, and didn’t go for the spaces. We did better after the break, went towards different zones that we could attack, but the big regret is conceding that second goal. It made everything more complicated.
“There were chances, but getting a goal back at the 88th minute was too late to really change things, even if we hit the woodwork in stoppages.”
SASSUOLO, ITALY – MARCH 01: Raffaele Palladino head coach of Atalanta BC during the Serie A match between US Sassuolo Calcio and Atalanta BC at Mapei Stadium Citta del Tricolore on March 01, 2026 in Sassuolo, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)
Palladino made a triple substitution at half-time, but he did not introduce another centre-forward, replacing Gianluca Scamacca with Nikola Krstovic.
“Sassuolo were defending 4-4-1, so to add another striker would’ve just played into their hands. We needed to attack them down the wings, which we didn’t do effectively enough in the first half. We lacked something on the final ball, but I was convinced we could score, the big regret was conceding the second. We could’ve stopped Laurienté earlier, that was the big mistake.”
SASSUOLO, ITALY – MARCH 01: Lazar Samardžić of Atalanta BC competes for the ball with Nemanja Matic of US Sassuolo during the Serie A match between US Sassuolo Calcio and Atalanta BC at Mapei Stadium Citta del Tricolore on March 01, 2026 in Sassuolo, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)
This was the first defeat of 2026 for Atalanta in Serie A, since December 28 against Inter, and will damage their hopes of breaking back into the top four.
“I analysed the team, and if I had seen them start badly, I might’ve considered us being distracted by midweek, but I didn’t see that. It’s disappointing, but these things can happen, we must put it behind us and focus immediately on the Coppa Italia.”
Atalanta will face Lazio in the Coppa Italia semi-final first leg on Wednesday, as the squad is becoming stretched rather thin by all these tournaments.