MASTER VS. APPRENTICE: FORMER TEAMMATES BATTLE IN UCL WITH SHARED TACTICAL ROOTS.
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca faces friend Raffaele Palladino (Atalanta) in the UCL, worrying that Palladino gained tactical insight during a recent London visit. It's a strategic battle.
Enzo Maresca's recent comments have stirred some worry ahead of Chelsea’s Champions League game against Atalanta.
Atalanta's season hasn't been stellar. They're currently 12th in Serie A after a slow start that led to the quick dismissal of their new manager, Ivan Juric, soon after he arrived this summer.
Raffaele Palladino took over in early November. Maresca knows him well from their time as players.
Chelsea is slightly favoured to win against Atalanta. The relationship between the two coaches could give the Italian team an unexpected advantage.
Atalanta’s manager, Raffaele Palladino, said about Chelsea:
This match is important, a big deal for the city, the club, the players, and everyone involved. We’re excited to play against such a strong team. Chelsea won the Club World Cup this summer; they have a lot of talent, strong players, and top-quality individuals. We want to see how we measure up against teams like this.
Palladino and Maresca were teammates at Juventus a long time ago and have remained friends.
Before Palladino became a Champions League rival, when he was a free agent, Maresca invited his old teammate to London.
Maresca told Sky Sports Italia, We’ve known each other since our Juventus days. Before he started working with Atalanta, he came to a couple of our games in London, and we stayed in touch.
Palladino mentioned spending time with Maresca and assistant coach Roberto Vitiello while he was in England.
He wasn’t just watching from the stands. He told Tutto Mercato Web, I think Chelsea is a strong team with very talented players.
I studied them when I was in England, but playing against them is always different. I’m happy for Maresca and what he’s doing.
Maresca couldn't have known he’d be facing his old friend, so he likely shared information with Palladino, who is now managing Atalanta.
Maresca may also have an advantage.
It's likely that Palladino gained some benefit from spending time around Chelsea.
Seeing the team play and talking with Maresca about his tactics gave Palladino some information that others might not have when playing against Chelsea.
But we should remember that Maresca also knows Atalanta and Italian soccer well. He learned a lot from the same person as Palladino—Gian Piero Gasperini, the famous coach of Atalanta.
This game will likely be a strategic battle between the coaches, who will be extra motivated to win.
Maresca can use a stronger lineup against Atalanta with Moises Caicedo back, but Cole Palmer is not on the team for this game.
ARSENAL POCKET INSANE £125.18M FOLLOWING CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL QUALIFICATION
Mikel Arteta's side has added £15.97m to their cash reserves, eclipsing the total earned by current champions PSG last year.
Arsenal have added another £15.97 million to their UEFA prize money haul after securing a spot in the Champions League final with a win against Atletico Madrid. They are set to face either Bayern Munich or the current champions, Paris Saint-Germain, in Budapest on May 30, aiming for their first-ever triumph in this prestigious competition.
Beyond that, there’s an additional £5.61 million up for grabs in Hungary later this month. But up to now, Arsenal have amassed an eye-watering £125.18 million in Champions League prize money this season alone. A place in next season’s European Super Cup also carries a potential reward of around £3.45 million. It’s been a remarkable European run under Mikel Arteta, with the team dominating the group stage by winning all eight matches.
From the very beginning, the club benefited from the initial distribution of TV revenue and the rankings pool, which together amounted to £49.6 million. Even before the knockout rounds kicked off, Arsenal had already secured £85.3 million in prize money.
That total doesn’t even cover the bonuses linked to their on-field success, as each of their eight victories in the group stage brought in roughly £15.8 million altogether.
By finishing first out of 36 group-phase clubs, Arsenal earned an extra £8.6 million, and progressing straight to the round of 16 as one of the top eight teams secured them another £11.3 million.
They continued their strong run by eliminating Bayer Leverkusen after a 1-1 draw away and a 2-0 win at the Emirates, which added £10.8 million more to their earnings.
Overcoming Sporting CP in the quarter-finals also brought a £10.8 million bonus. While Arsenal’s motivation isn’t just financial, this level of income certainly aids in meeting profit and sustainability rules and other financial fair play criteria.
It’s also likely to support their summer transfer budget, as sporting director Andrea Berta looks to build on Arteta’s squad.
Last season, Arsenal took home £98.63 million after reaching the semi-finals before falling to PSG.
PSG, who went on to win the title, collected about £124.62 million last year, so Arsenal have now already surpassed that figure.
Meanwhile, UEFA has set aside a record £2.13 billion in prize money for the 2025-26 Champions League season, highlighting the competition’s growing financial stakes.
JAN OBLAK CONFESSES ATLETICO WERE "AFRAID TO PLAY" AGAINST ARSENAL
Following their Champions League exit, skipper Jan Oblak analysed where Atletico went wrong and paid tribute to Griezmann.
Jan Oblak didn’t hold back after Atletico Madrid crashed out of the Champions League against Arsenal. He said straight up that the team just didn’t do enough to earn a spot in the final. Sure, he’s proud of how far the squad has come recently, but the way they went out still stings.
Oblak was pretty open about where things went wrong, especially after the first leg, when Atletico failed to take an advantage back to London. “I'm disappointed, just like all the fans. Honestly, I can’t find the words. We didn’t do enough to be in the final, and it’s just a tough moment. We had our chances to win, but we didn’t take them. All that’s left is to congratulate Arsenal.”
He didn’t stop there, either. Speaking to CBS Golazo, Oblak was even more direct about the team’s mentality, especially in the first half of both matches. He felt Atletico were hesitant, too respectful of Arsenal, and afraid to play. Both times, they fell behind before halftime and then tried to play catch-up, but it was always a little too late. “This has happened several times this season,” Oblak said, “and while we’ve managed to win those games before, not today when it mattered most.”
On the flip side, Oblak did give some credit to the young players and the growth the team’s shown, especially after a couple of big summers that saw a huge part of the squad change. “The last two seasons, we’ve switched out something like 15 players. A lot of young guys with not much experience came in. They did great in the cup, and they’ve held up in the Champions League too. In the league, we weren’t good enough for the biggest matches, but I’m proud of how the younger ones are growing. Still, when the goal is to win a title, and you don’t, you can’t call it a success. All we can do is look forward and hope we’ll be fighting for trophies next season.”
Saying goodbye to Antoine Griezmann made this exit even sadder for Oblak and the rest of the squad. Griezmann’s heading to Orlando City this summer, bringing the curtain down on his Champions League career with Atletico. “Everyone’s going to miss Griezi; he’s an incredible player and a great guy. The kind of person who’s always smiling, always positive, and does things on the pitch nobody else can. We’ll miss him a lot; the fans will miss him, but he deserves nothing but the best wherever he goes.”
At 33, Oblak is one of Atletico’s true leaders, right behind Koke for the captain’s armband. Alongside Jose Maria Gimenez and Marcos Llorente, he’s been a
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