Palladino: ‘Atalanta want Coppa Italia for trophy and to guarantee Europe’

Raffaele Palladino insists Atalanta see the Coppa Italia semi-final with Lazio as both a chance ‘to lift a trophy, but also guaranteeing access to a European competition.’

It kicks off at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday at 20.00 GMT (21.00 CET).

The second leg date has not yet been set, but will be April 21 or 22 in Bergamo.

By a curious twist of fate, these teams met in Serie A at the Stadio Olimpico on February 14, with Atalanta emerging 2-0 winners thanks to an Ederson penalty and Nicola Zalewski strike.

Palladino and Atalanta want the Coppa Italia

“We are facing a Lazio side that we know well,” Palladino told Sport Mediaset.

“We only recently played against them in Serie A, we know they will be fired up and still bitter about that, so obviously they are highly-motivated to beat us this time.”

The semi-final is the only stage of the Coppa Italia to be played over two legs, home and away, as all the others are one-off matches.

“It is important to see it over the two legs, even if there is a large gap between the games,” continued the coach.

“This is a competition that we really care about in particular, because Atalanta reached the Coppa Italia Final three times in the last seven years, so we want to make it four and perhaps beyond that.

“This is our dream, the primary objective is for this club to lift a trophy, and I think this is also a way of guaranteeing access to a European competition for next season.

“It is a truly very, very important match, we believe in ourselves, and have the right attitude going in.”

Atalanta are currently pushing for a top four finish, but it is an increasingly tight battle including Roma, Juventus and Como.