Eljif Elmas opened the scoring after just one minute, Giacomo Raspadori converted a penalty and Gianluca Scamacca added a third before half-time as Atalanta established control at the New Balance Arena on Thursday.
Pafos pulled one back through Biel in the 88th minute, but the goal came too late to threaten the Italian side’s victory in their opening Conference League fixture.
Maurizio Sarri was pleased with the way his team handled the contest, particularly its organisation and work in possession, although he admitted there was still room for improvement ahead of a demanding run of matches.
“We had a significant improvement tonight, even though it is disappointing to concede in the 90th minute,” Sarri said. “The team put in a good performance without conceding anything, a group that is aware of what it is doing and compact even when playing out from the back.”
Atalanta’s fast start gave them an advantage they never surrendered. Elmas struck in the first minute, Raspadori doubled the lead from the penalty spot in the 18th and Scamacca made it 3-0 just before the interval.
Sarri also highlighted the contribution of players who have been working towards greater involvement. Sead Kolašinac, he said, could offer the team options in central defence as well as in a back three, while Nicola Zalewski and Mario Pašalić had shown their value to the collective.
“Everyone has to be available for the team,” Sarri said, praising Zalewski’s improvement during the match and Pašalić’s performance after a long spell without regular playing time. He also described Eljif Elmas as an important balancing presence for Atalanta and said he was proud to give young defender Javison Idele his debut.
The coach was already looking ahead to Sunday’s Serie A meeting with AC Milan at San Siro, with fitness concerns complicating preparations. Giacomo Raspadori needed further assessment after feeling discomfort in the same area where he had previously suffered an injury while on international duty. Sarri said Davide Bellanova was expected to be available again.
“Three matches in a week is tough: we have barely had time to recover before playing again,” he said. “We hope to get some players back and continue this improvement.”
Pafos coach Ricardo Sá Pinto acknowledged the difference in quality between the sides and felt conceding so early had made the task considerably harder.
“There is too much difference in level between us and Atalanta,” he said. “Clearly, conceding a goal like that at the beginning made everything more difficult. We needed to be perfect to get something more from the game.”
Sá Pinto wanted his side to show greater aggression and compactness, but took encouragement from the second half and argued Pafos should have had two penalties. He thanked the travelling supporters for their backing and said the team would try to build on its improved second-half showing.