Palladino: ‘Atalanta battle with courage, I never talk about referees’ | OneFootball

Raffaele Palladino thanks Atalanta for ‘battling with such courage’ to a 1-1 draw with Inter, especially thanks to their substitutes, and shrugs off controversy.

La Dea were feeling the pressure after one point from two Serie A games, a 2-2 Coppa Italia semi-final draw at Lazio, and above all Tuesday’s 6-1 Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich.

So when going a goal down at San Siro to Francesco Pio Esposito’s angled drive, it as not to be taken for granted that they’d get back into it.

Palladino hails Atalanta fightback

MILAN, ITALY – MARCH 14: Raffaele Palladino, Head Coach of Atalanta, gestures during the Serie A match between FC Inter and Atalanta BC at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on March 14, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

“This is a great squad, I’ve been asking so much of then for the last four months, and I want to publicly thank them for all their efforts,” Palladino told DAZN Italia.

“They’ve battled with such courage and it’s not easy to play every three days, but they put in a strong performance today. We improved over the course of the match, we had wanted to sit a little deeper and use the transitions in the first half, but didn’t do it well enough.”

This has to be treated as a positive result in the circumstances, and there was a boost with the return of Ederson and Charles De Ketelaere as substitutes after injury problems.

“I knew the inertia of the game could change and those who came off the bench gave us a great energy boost,” continued Palladino.

“Krstovic gave a big hand, we needed his work ethic. We also got De Ketelaere back, Isak Hien won every defensive duel. The players who can come off the bench are a real strength of this club.”

MILAN, ITALY – MARCH 14: Giorgio Scalvini of Atalanta controls the ball whilst under pressure from Francesco Pio Esposito of Inter during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Atalanta BC at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on March 14, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

There was controversy too, as Inter were furious a foul wasn’t given for Kamaldeen Sulemana on Denzel Dumfries in the build-up to Nikola Krstovic’s equaliser, then felt Giorgio Scalvini’s contact on Davide Frattesi was worthy of a penalty.

“I never talk about referees. Your own refereeing expert Luca Marelli confirmed the referee did not make a mistake here, so I try to respect everyone’s work.”

Now Atalanta travel to Munich for the second leg of their Champions League tie, having lost the first leg 6-1.

“The result is compromised and there’s a mountain to climb, but we’ll play our game against a great opponent,” concluded Palladino.