Palladino: ‘I don’t have a magic wand’ to transform Atalanta

Raffaele Palladino insists he ‘doesn’t have a magic wand’ after transforming Atalanta in their 2-0 victory over Fiorentina.

By a curious twist of destiny, his first home game on the Dea bench was also against his former club, who have been in crisis ever since his departure over the summer.

Odilon Kossounou opened the scoring with a wayward cross-shot, before Ademola Lookman sealed the 2-0 result, the first Atalanta Serie A victory since mid-September, ending an eight-game winless streak.

Palladino has already changed Atalanta’s fortunes

BERGAMO, ITALY – NOVEMBER 30: Raffaele Palladino, Head Coach of Atalanta BC looks on prior to the Serie A match between Atalanta BC and ACF Fiorentina at Gewiss Stadium on November 30, 2025 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

“It has been a good week, with a victory in the Champions League and a win here in Serie A, which had been missing for a while,” Palladino told Sky Sport Italia.

“We were up against an opponent that is alive and kicking today, who really wanted to get a result, but we showed patience and created many scoring opportunities,” continued Palladino.

“There was the risk of conceding, but our forwards were clinical. I saw what I expected, and now we must continue like this.”

BERGAMO, ITALY – NOVEMBER 30: Raffaele Palladino, Head Coach of Atalanta BC looks on prior to the Serie A match between Atalanta BC and ACF Fiorentina at Gewiss Stadium on November 30, 2025 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Since taking over from sacked Ivan Juric, there have been marked improvements, losing 3-1 to Napoli, but then winning 3-0 away to Eintracht Frankfurt and 2-0 with Fiorentina.

“The credit is down to the lads, I simply brought my ideas and tactical principles. When there is a change of coach, inevitably the mood in the group isn’t the best, so I tried to create a dialogue, even friendship, and showed every player they had responsibility.

“I spoke to everyone, but if there wasn’t already a strong group here, I wouldn’t have seen such a quick response,” explained Palladino.

“I don’t have a magic wand, I just tried to give an identity to this team. The lads all feel fully involved, and I like that spirit. This is the mentality and the DNA of Atalanta that I want to see.

“We took risks today, but I appreciated the courage of the squad.”