Atalanta piled more misery on Chelsea on Tuesday night after beating the Blues 2-1 in the Champions League.
Chelsea are now on a run of three games without a win after drawing with Bournemouth and losing to Leeds United prior to their defeat in Bergamo.
Chelsea fans were not too impressed with Enzo Maresca, criticising the Italian for bringing on Tosin Adarabioyo.
Who was your Man of the Match vs Atalanta?
However, Atalanta manager Raffaele Palladino has been much more positive about the Blues.
Raffaele Palladino impressed with Chelsea’s ‘technical quality and pace’
Despite losing against his side, Palladino has praised Chelsea, highlighting the “technical and pace” that they brought to the game.
Speaking to Sky Sport after Atalanta’s victory, he said: “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.”
Chelsea initially took the lead through Joao Pedro in the 25th minute. It looked like it was going to be a good night for Maresca’s men.
However, former West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca went on to equalise before Charles De Ketelaere netted Atalanta’s winner.
De Ketelaere was surprised by Chelsea’s defending, revealing that he did not expect to be given so much space before his goal.
Chelsea now have to try and bounce back from their defeat against Palladino’s team when they face Everton on Saturday.
What Raffaele Palladino said about Chelsea before the game
Palladino was also very complimentary of Chelsea in the build-up to Tuesday night’s Champions League clash.
The 41-year-old claimed that the Blues’ squad had a lot of quality in it and was one that Atalanta really wanted to face.
Atalanta manager Raffaele Palladino on Chelsea
“First of all, it’s a prestigious match, a great occasion for the city, for the club, the players and all of us. We can’t wait to step onto the pitch and face such a strong team. Chelsea won the Club World Cup this summer; they’re packed with quality, strong individuals, top-class players. We want to measure ourselves against teams like this.”
Raffaele Palladino speaking to Atalanta’s official club website
Unfortunately for Chelsea supporters, over these last few matches, they have not really seen the kind of quality that Palladino spoke about.
Chelsea were without their star player Cole Palmer, who was rested after just returning from injury.
Maresca will now be expecting the England international to add more quality to the side when he returns for Saturday’s game versus Everton. After dropping points against Bournemouth and Leeds, it is a match Chelsea really need to win.
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