NAPLES, ITALY – NOVEMBER 22: Atalanta BC head coach Raffaele Palladino during the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and Atalanta BC at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on November 22, 2025 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by: Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)
Raffaele Palladino wants to see the “glass half full” after Atalanta lost 3-1 to Napoli on his debut. “I want to see the team in the second half.”
The manager said it was “fate” to make his debut on the Atalanta bench in his hometown of Napoli, but when he went into half-time down 3-0, it felt more like a nightmare than a dream.
At the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, David Neres scored the second goal and Noah Lang scored the third with a dominant performance.
Gianluca Scamacca grabbed a goal with a brilliant volley, and after two substitutions things looked better and at least they had a few chances to show some fight.
Palladino looks at the positives for Atalanta
“We expected Napoli to start well. They played really well man-to-man. We had Pašalić in that position to get the ball out, but we didn’t have him in the right position to help the pass and we didn’t have a good first half,” Paladino told Sky Sports Italia.
“It’s a shame because the third goal was avoidable and we could have kept our chances longer. The second half was very positive. I liked the nature of the reaction and that’s the Atalanta I want to see. We had many chances to make it 3-2, but Napoli chased it down well.”
“Some things we have to work on, and some things we can build for the future.”
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Scamacca was one of two substitutes brought on at half-time and his presence seemed to make a difference in the game after the false nine failed to make an impact.
“Gianluca came out with the right spirit. I liked the whole team’s attitude in the second half. They acted as if the first half had never happened, so we need to build on that courage and noise,” added Paladino.
“We took a lot of positives from this game. We have some great strikers and we will do well in the future.”
David Neres’ first two goals were both caused by Atalanta’s attack breaking down and causing them to lose their balance.
“That’s right. We had very little time to train and it was the first time we had the whole team together on Thursday. We were a bit too open when we had the ball and the second and especially the third goal was avoidable, so we’ll work on that.”
“But we need to look at the glass half full at the moment and focus on the positive aspects to boost the confidence of this team.”
Atalanta were famous for their intensity and stamina under coach Gian Piero Gasperini, but that seems to have been lacking so far this season.
“We need to work on that aspect as well. The team has done a lot of hard physical work over the last few days, so they know they have to work hard with me. They are like soldiers and have followed every order I have given them. That’s a good place to start,” Palladino added.
Atalanta continues to fall in the Serie A rankings, having just entered the international break, in 13th place, having lost three consecutive league games.
They have not won in the last eight domestic matches since an away match against Torino on September 21st (3-0).
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