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BOLOGNA, ITALY – JANUARY 07: Nikola Krstovic of Atalanta celebrates scoring his team’s first goal with Raffaele Palladino, Head Coach of Atalanta, during the Serie A match between Bologna FC 1909 and Atalanta BC at Renato Dall’Ara Stadium on January 07, 2026 in Bologna, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)
Nikola Krstovic won a stoppage-time penalty for Atalanta against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday and coach Raffaele Palladino urged his players to give him a ‘huge round of applause’ as he held up a bloodstained bandage used to stop the striker’s bleeding.
Atalanta are the only Serie A side to have qualified for the Champions League Round of 16, having eliminated Borussia Dortmund from the knockout play-off with a 4-3 aggregate win.
Palladino’s dressing room speech after historic Atalanta win
La Dea earned a late penalty last night when Ramy Bensebaini clumsily kicked Krstovic in the head, and Atalanta coach Palladino praised his striker in the dressing room after the match.
A video posted by Atalanta onInstagram shows Palladino addressing the team while showing a bloodstained bandage Krstovic used to stop the bleeding.
“Let’s give a huge round of applause, come on, give it to him, to a player who, look at this, threw himself at the very last ball, Krstovic, and won us a penalty,” Palladino said in the presence of Luca and Antonio Percassi.
The striker himself also took to social media to show the consequences of Bensebaini’s reckless kick. However, inevitably, the ex-Lecce striker still appeared to be in a good mood after a memorable evening in Bergamo.
Atalanta will face Arsenal or Bayern Munich in the Round of 16 and will learn their next opponent during a draw taking place tomorrow.
ByLorenzo Bettoni
Lorenzo Bettoni is the Editor of Football Italia.
