Atalanta coach Raffaele Palladino apologised after a 3-2 defeat to Cagliari ended top six hopes and discussed his future. ‘I am not tied by contracts and money, I try to be ambitious.’
CAGLIARI, ITALY – APRIL 27: Referee Juan Luca Sacchi reacts with Yerry Mina of Cagliari during the Serie A match between Cagliari Calcio and Atalanta BC at Stadio Sant’Elia on April 27, 2026 in Cagliari, Italy. (Photo by Enrico Locci/Getty Images)
La Dea were already shaken last week by their Coppa Italia semi-final elimination to Lazio on a penalty shoot-out, and were clearly carrying the weight of that 120 minutes.
They conceded a goal within 16 seconds in Sardinia to teenager Paul Mendy, who promptly added a second just seven minutes later.
Gianluca Scamacca’s brace had it at 2-2 by half-time, but Gennaro Borrelli scored the winner in the opening minute of the restart.
Palladino frustrated by Atalanta performance
CAGLIARI, ITALY – APRIL 27: Paul Mendy #31 of Cagliari scores the opening goal during the Serie A match between Cagliari Calcio and Atalanta BC at Stadio Sant’Elia on April 27, 2026 in Cagliari, Italy. (Photo by Enrico Locci/Getty Images)
“We conceded a goal when we were practically still in the dressing room,” confessed Palladino to DAZN Italia.
“Starting like that knocks the wind out of you. We were unable to recover our physical and mental energy after the Coppa Italia. It is obvious if you are a goal down within 30 seconds. I had hoped the lads would turn a corner today, but we didn’t, and we apologise to the fans for our performance.
“We wanted to keep the European hopes alive and we didn’t manage it, so there are many regrets.”
Cagliari were certainly not lacking in motivation, because this victory allowed them to move eight points clear of the relegation zone with four rounds left to play.
“They came out fighting from the start, but we did have a very good reaction to equaliser. Cagliari had a lot of aggression and intensity, but conceding the third goal straight after the restart was just dumb of us.
“After that, they all got behind the ball and it became difficult to break them down, even if we had many scoring opportunities. It think their goalkeeper was Man of the Match, Elia Caprile was extraordinary.”
CAGLIARI, ITALY – APRIL 27: Coach of Atalanta Raffaele Palladino looks on during the Serie A match between Cagliari Calcio and Atalanta BC at Stadio Sant’Elia on April 27, 2026 in Cagliari, Italy. (Photo by Enrico Locci/Getty Images)
Palladino tried to shake things up in the second half by using both Scamacca and Nikola Krstovic together, something that could be seen more in future.
“It is an option for certain games, today we had a lot of individual duels to fight, so we used two centre-forwards.”
The coach has revitalised Atalanta after a dismal start under Ivan Juric, but ultimately looks as if he will lead them to seventh place in Serie A, which might not be enough to qualify for the Conference League.
“Since I arrived, we have climbed a mountain and had a great journey. We were 13th and yet managed to challenge for a place in Europe, but we used up a lot of energy chasing that down over many months,” added Palladino.
“When you are chasing, you cannot afford a single error, and when you do it feels like the world is collapsing around you. These lads had to deal with a lot of setbacks since the start of the campaign, so now we’re a bit short on mental and physical energy.
“I had hoped we could hit the reset button after the Coppa Italia, but it’s not easy after 4-5 days. Unfortunately now the gap is quite big, but we’ll keep fighting to the last day.”
BERGAMO, ITALY – APRIL 22: Raffaele Palladino, Head Coach of Atalanta, looks on prior to the Coppa Italia semifinal match between Atalanta BC and SS Lazio at New Balance Arena on April 22, 2026 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
Palladino was brought in to replace Juric in mid-November, but what does the future hold for the Atalanta coach?
“I am happy at Atalanta. I tried to do my best. I am not tied by contracts and money, I try to be very ambitious and want to do my best until the end of the season for this club.”