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Atalanta presumptuous? Raffaele Palladino speaks out after the knockout

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Atalanta made hara-kiri in the Champions League against Athletic Bilbao, plummeting from third place (guaranteed to be in the round of 16 already) to 13th in just 18 minutes. A potential 1-0 lead full of squandered chances to double, transmuted, however, into 1-3 and then 2-3 when it was too late. It was an evening that called into question the Nerazzurri’s psychological resilience, which, however, Raffaele Palladino wanted to defend from criticism at the end of the game. While admitting that the evening has to be defined as decidedly crooked.

“I don’t think we can talk about cocky Atalanta – said Palladino to ‘Sky Sport‘ – Instead, I see guys who work hard every day to always try to improve. We were leading the game, then we got a goal and went into trouble. However, these details make a difference, in the Champions League you pay dearly for them. Plus we conceded three goals on three shots by Athletic Bilbao. This is something we have to analyze, understand what happened and put something more”.

Marco Enzo VenturiniAdemola Lookman and Victor Osimhen argue on the field: photos of the scene

Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen quarrel on the field: photos
Surreal scene that occurred during the African Cup of Nations match between Nigeria and Mozambique
Victor Osimhen got angry with Ademola Lookman because the Atalanta champion did not pass him the ball in a'action

The two teammates had a brief but heated quarrel
Victor Osimhen was really furious and lashed out at Ademola Lookman
Lookman tried to justify himself but Osimhen would not hear reason
The Nigerian center forward continued to rail against his partner for several minutes
And yet on Osimhen’s second personal goal, the'assist was actually by Lookman

After the fight with Lookman, Osimhen asked for replacement
The Nigerian footballer is also at the center of several market rumors
It seems that some intermediaries have offered him to Bayern Munich but the cost is too high
Galatasaray asks for 75 million euros to give up the very strong striker

Atalanta, in particular, conceded the second and third goals to Athletic with as many individual mistakes. One aspect that, more than others, troubles Palladino: “I don&#8217t sleep at night to understand why it happens. I talk a lot with the guys, but we have to understand that matches are made of moments and in some of them you have to suffer. If we understand this, we will take the extra step that we lack right now. That said, our goal in the Champions League is to qualify. Finishing in the top eight doesn’t matter to me; if anything, spirit and performance on the pitch are more important. From this point of view we still have to grow”.

“When we lose matches we always see the negative side– however, Palladino added -, but since I arrived at Atalanta the positive aspects are many. We are still in the running in three competitions, we were in the top eight and it was a dream. But certainly not one of the seasonal goals we had set for ourselves”.

And among the positive aspects, paradoxically, there&#8217s just the first half of Atalanta against Athletic. “We played it perfectly, managing to do everything we had tried. We created so many chances, we were good in possession and non-possession. Then the equalizer gave us a blow that I cannot explain – admitted Palladino -, for a quarter of an hour we went completely blackout. My regret is due to that”.

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