Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini was delighted with victory over Lecce.
Ademola Lookman struck the winner as La Dea signed off for 2023 with a 1-0 triumph.
Gasperini said: "I hope to always have this spirit, that this team can increasingly cement this desire to fight.
"The most important thing for us to always have the spirit that we showed in this match, I see a team that is growing both on the pitch and in the locker room, but this is a balanced championship, with a very short ranking, which means that the value of the teams below our ranking has risen.
"We achieved 9 victories, that's not a few. This is a team that in my opinion is growing a lot, there have been very strong performances, recently we have paid for the injuries at the back, a lot will depend on the continuity with which we play in attack, if we can bring these players to a good level... it will depend on this whether or not we will be able to make the leap in quality."