Atalanta boss Raffaele Palladino praised his side’s performance after they staged a comeback to secure a 2-1 win against Chelsea in Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League encounter, SportPremi reports.
The Italian side overturned a first half deficit with a remarkable second half display to secure maximum points and edge closer to an automatic playoff spot.
Gianluca Scamacca and Charles De Ketelaere both found the back of the net for the home side, while Chelsea scored through Joao Pedro.
La Dea moved up the standings to third place ahead of the remaining match-day six encounters on Wednesday, with 13 points having won four times, drawn once and suffered a single defeat.
It was also their fourth win in six matches since Palladino took over, highlighting a significant improvement since the departure of former manager Ivan Juric.
How it happened
Both sides headed into the clash on the back of convincing 3-0 victories over Eintracht Frankfurt and Barcelona and both had 10 points with few games left till the knockout rounds.
Chelsea started off as the better side and were in front a VAR review overturned an offside decision on a strike by Joao Pedro.
Check this: Atalanta 2-1 Chelsea Report and Players Ratings
Both teams traded chances to add to the scoreline, as it remained 1-0 in favor of the Blues into the interval.
Ademola Lookman then thought he had equalized for the home side, but he strayed offside and the strike was correctly ruled out.
However, Atalanta were not to be denied their deserved goal as Scamacca headed home an impressive delivery from Belgian playmaker De Ketelaere.
The impressive De Ketelaere then struck late in the clash which flew into the net despite the best efforts of Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
The match ended 2-1 as La Dea moved two points behind the top two sides , Arsenal and defending champions Paris Saint Germain.
Palladino hails perfect night for Atalanta
Raffaele Palladino has now won both of his UEFA Champions League games in charge of Atalanta and has won four in six in all competitions since taking over.
The Italian demanded a statement result from his club and was highly impressed with their performance in the victory.
“I am very happy, because it was a magical evening in front of our fans. We played against a very strong opponent, I was impressed by their technical quality and pace. This gives extra value to our victory and confirms what we are worth too”, the former Fiorentina manager said.
“As I told them in the centre circle, we cannot be this inconsistent. I want to believe Verona was just a slip-up, as we need this Atalanta spirit and DNA in every single game. They were perfect tonight, we only had a day to prepare for the match, and I thank them.
This type of performance and result can really boost your self-belief, but now we have to focus on the next Serie A match.”
Atalanta are back in action next Saturday when they welcome Cagliari to the Gewiss Stadium in the Italian Serie A.
