BERGAMO, ITALY – MARCH 10: Raffaele Palladino, Head Coach of Atalanta, looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Round of 16 First Leg match between Atalanta BC and FC Bayern München at Stadio di Bergamo on March 10, 2026 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
Raffaele Palladino admits that the difference in quality of players is the main reason behind Atalanta’s 6-1 hammering by Bayern Munich in the Champions League, but insists that he would stick with the same system if he were to hypothetically play the same game again.
Atalanta were thumped 6-1 on home soil by a dominant and ruthless Bayern side in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie in Bergamo on Tuesday night: Josip Stanisic, Michael Olise, Serge Gnabry, Nicolas Jackson, Jamal Musiala and Mario Pasalic with the goals.
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Palladino reacts to Atalanta 6-1 Bayern Munich
Atalanta were vastly outclassed by their Bundesliga opponents on the night, but Palladino insists that his players will learn from this experience and become better as players and as a team because of it.
“Firstly let’s congratulate Bayern. A very strong team, at times they were truly unplayable,” Palladino told Sky Sport Italia after full-time. “For us, the best player was our fans. I want to thank them. They cheered us on until the very end despite the defeat.
“It’s an experience that will make us grow. I would go about it in the same way if we were to play again. If we got here, to the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia and are fighting in the league, it’s because of the mentality and therefore I would play like this again.”
Atalanta will be hoping to bounce back in Serie A this weekend, but they face another tough task there with a trip to San Siro to take on league leaders Inter on Saturday.
“The team has always reacted well to defeats and we will react as early as Saturday,” said Palladino. “We’re facing a strong team again in Inter, but I’ve told the team that they have to accept the result and recover their energy.”
And returning to the topic of the Bayern defeat, Palladino said: “We dropped off in the second half. They dribble at you and have these incredibly strong wingers. They’re a team that’s destined to go all the way, but having said that, I’m happy with the team, which sweated until the end. And again, I’d like to thank the fans.”
Palladino insists that he will not move away from Atalanta’s man-to-man system, even if it was part of their downfall against Bayern.
“We expected them to put us in a difficult spot, with their strong players up front and their attacks from deep. We accept their qualities and strengths. We’ve come this far because we’ve had this mentality and we won’t change that. We won’t defend zonally, we accept the result and either we win or we learn.
“I’ve never seen players with these qualities, They really impressed me. They always gave it to players on their preferred foot and at the right speed. You can try and play deep, but they will still hurt you all the same.
“We had four big absences, we didn’t have many players up front and we preferred to stay the same after the game against Udinese over the weekend.
“We were never able to restart properly. They had aggression and immediately won the ball back. We’ve come this far because we have this mentality after beating Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund. Aside from the system, the difference is in the players.”