UNACCEPTABLE: RAFFAELE PALLADINO RIPS ATALANTA AFTER SHOCK LOSS 3-1 AND VAR FURY
Atalanta coach Raffaele Palladino was furious after the 3-1 loss to last-place Verona, calling the performance "unacceptable" and blaming a poor team attitude.
After Atalanta's 3-1 loss to Hellas Verona, coach Raffaele Palladino was angry, partly because of a disputed penalty call, but mostly at his own team. He said the performance was unacceptable.
Verona's third goal was especially controversial. Lazar Samardzic was complaining about a possible handball by Armel Bella-Kotchap when Verona launched a counterattack, and Antoine Bernede scored.
The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) looked at the play and decided that while Bella-Kotchap did lean toward the ball, his fingertips didn't touch it enough to change its direction. So, they didn't advise the referee to review his decision on the field.
Palladino was shocked by the loss.
"I usually don't talk about referees because everyone makes mistakes, but the touch was too obvious," Palladino told Sky Sport Italia.
You could clearly see the touch. VAR was supposed to make things simpler, but it's making them more complex by talking about whether the ball changed direction or not. Why does that matter? It's obvious his fingertips touched the ball. That changed the game. Their third goal should have been disallowed, and we could have had a penalty to make it 2-1.
Atalanta seemed to be on a roll with three wins in a row in Serie A, the Champions League, and the Coppa Italia.
So, they didn't expect to be down 3-0 at Verona, especially against a team that was last in the standings and hadn't won a single game all season.
Rafik Belghali, Giovane, and Bernede scored for Verona. Gianluca Scamacca's late penalty wasn't enough to change things.
Our first half was really bad, so we take responsibility and apologize to our fans. "We didn't understand what kind of game we needed to play," Palladino admitted.
We knew Verona would be intense and focused on winning individual battles, since they have the least possession in Serie A this season. We knew they would play direct, vertical passes, but we had the wrong attitude. We didn't get that we had to adapt to their style.
We were slow. It's probably my fault for not getting them focused enough. Now we need to recover, see what went wrong, and make sure this doesn't happen again. By the time we reacted, it was too late.
We can only apologize to our fans because this was a chance to move up the table.
This wasn't the result Atalanta wanted before their Champions League game next week with Chelsea. The three previous wins made the loss sting even more, though maybe the upcoming big game was a distraction.
I really can't explain what happened. After the first half against Napoli, I saw good reactions. "I didn't see any signs that the team wasn't taking this seriously or that they were tired from the previous games," Palladino said.
If I had, I would have done something about it. It's hard to explain. We need to figure out what went wrong and get back to being the team we were in the last three games. This performance was too awful for Atalanta. We need to forget about it and move on.
I'm the leader, and I can't accept this. We need to have a winning attitude, not a losing one. This game might help us improve, because sometimes you need a wake-up call. But I need to make them understand that this isn't okay. I won't accept the wrong attitude or less intensity. We can lose, but not like this.
RADJA NAINGGOLAN SLAMS NAPOLI’S SCOTT MCTOMINAY AS "JUST AVERAGE" IN TV RANT
Radja Nainggolan has sparked controversy by calling Napoli's Scudetto winner Scott McTominay "average" in a scathing TV interview.
Scott McTominay’s journey from Manchester United to Napoli has been wild. He’s helped the club win a Scudetto, snagged a Ballon d’Or nomination, and his goal tally is impressive. But not everyone’s sold on him. Even with all those honours, one Serie A legend isn’t convinced. Radja Nainggolan slammed him as just “an average player".
After McTominay’s £26 million jump from Old Trafford in 2024, he took off. He won the Serie A MVP, clinched Napoli’s fourth Scudetto with a spectacular overhead goal against Cagliari, and made a big mark in Italy. Still, Nainggolan, never shy with an opinion, tore into him during a TV interview. Despite McTominay racking up 26 goals in 76 games and getting a Ballon d’Or nod, Nainggolan didn’t hold back. “I don’t like him,” he said on Sky Calcio Unplugged. “He gets his goals, 12, 13, 14 a season, but his general play? He doesn’t have the technique to move between the lines. He’s just average.”
And he wasn’t content to leave it at that. Nainggolan compared himself to today’s names, arguing he was better than both McTominay and Inter’s Hakan Calhanoglu at his best, though he admitted Nicolo Barella sits above him. “At my peak, I was better than McTominay and Calhanoglu, but Barella is on another level,” Nainggolan said. “He doesn’t always score a lot, but when he does, it matters, and you always feel his presence on the pitch. I like De Bruyne, too; he sees things nobody else does. He’s above me, and Modric...he’s always been world-class.”
Of course, Nainggolan’s take doesn’t really jibe with life in Naples. McTominay has become something of a hero there; his face is on murals around the city, the fans have dubbed him ‘McFratm’ (McBrother), and he helped Napoli win the Supercoppa Italiana in December 2025. Even if Inter seems ready to grab the Serie A crown back, McTominay’s reputation hasn’t dipped. His knack for scoring from midfield has been crucial for Conte’s side.
Nainggolan also touched on Belgium’s so-called “Golden Generation” and why they didn’t deliver a major trophy, despite stars like Lukaku, Hazard, and De Bruyne. He knows the team well, having made 30 appearances before retiring after he got left out of the 2018 World Cup squad. “We had Lukaku, Hazard, De Bruyne, and Courtois. Too many superstars, too many egos,” Nainggolan said. “Everyone wanted to be the star, to be the most important guy, and that just doesn’t work.” His take pretty much confirms what fans suspected: there was plenty of talent, but not enough unity.
MANCHESTER UNITED AND CHELSEA ENTER RACE FOR DISCOUNTED €50M-RATED RAFAEL LEãO
Discover why Rafael Leão’s value has plummeted at AC Milan and which Premier League clubs are leading the race to sign him.
Just a year ago, everyone was buzzing about Rafael Leao and his rumoured €120 million move to Chelsea. Fast forward to this summer’s transfer window, and it looks like AC Milan’s ready to let him go for nowhere near that amount. Manchester United, along with a few others, are circling, hoping to get him for much less.
Last week, Gazzetta dello Sport broke the news: Milan now values Leao at just €50 million. That’s a wild drop, especially since six months ago they slapped a €100 million price tag on him.
So what happened? Why did his value tank so quickly?
Perception plays a big part. Leao’s estimated transfer value hasn’t actually changed that much. FootballTransfers’ algorithm had him pegged at €72.5 million last July, and now he’s at €70.7 million. But Milan’s own estimate? That’s fallen off a cliff.
Last summer, Milan wanted €50 million above the algorithm’s number. Now, they’re ready to accept an offer that’s €20 million below it.
Leao once had everything going for him in Milan. In the 2021/22 season, he carried them to the Scudetto, racking up 11 goals and 10 assists. Clubs were fighting over him, and in 2023, Milan rewarded him with a hefty €7 million salary and a massive €175 million release clause. That’s when top European clubs started sniffing around for a record-breaking deal.
But the new contract didn’t spark another big season for Leao. In his next campaign, he scored 15 goals and managed 14 assists, but fans started to turn, especially after two weak outings against Roma in the Europa League.
Things haven’t improved since. Early in the 2024/25 season, Milan benched him for disciplinary reasons, and he seemed pretty unfazed, something that sparked more criticism. He’s had some public clashes with head coach Max Allegri, too. Despite still being Milan’s top scorer, he hasn’t scored in two months. And the fans? They’ve booed him at home games, most recently against Juventus and earlier against Udinese.
Now, Milan looks ready to move on. Leao’s raw talent is still obvious, but at San Siro, the excitement has faded. SciSports, the data analytics folks, show his performance is in “significant decline” based on their SciSkill rating. Still, they think he can bounce back.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Milan plans to hold off until the World Cup, hoping Leao puts on a big show for Portugal and builds hype again.
He’s still got admirers. Arsenal’s been keeping tabs on him, FootballTransfers said back in February. Chelsea, Liverpool, and United are all in the market for a left-sided attacker and would jump at the chance to grab a rejuvenated Leao.
Sure, the €120 million rumours are a thing of the past. But the old Leão, the top-class player, is still in there somewhere. He just needs the right club, coach, and a fresh start.
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