Really Madrid vs Atalanta
Spanish hopes of a LaLiga representative in the Champions League Quarter-Finals this year, largely lie on the shoulders of Real Madrid who take a 1-0 lead into the 2nd Leg of their clash with Atalanta. Zinedine Zidane’s side will be expected to finish the job on Tuesday night at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano.
The 1st Leg had the potential to really go wrong for Madrid. They travelled to Bergamo missing a host of key players and with a bench largely consisting of B team and youth players. However an early red card for Atalanta’s Remo Freuler set the tone for the night as the Italian side abandoned their usual attacking approach and sat deep in a bid to keep themselves in the tie heading into the 2nd Leg. Real Madrid struggled to create chances but ultimately found the breakthrough as Ferland Mendy fired in from range in the 86th minute.
Los Blancos will have a stronger XI out this week as they look to finish the job. Most notably Karim Benzema and Sergio Ramos are available again. The former has been instrumental in keeping their slim title hopes alive in the weeks since the 1st Leg with Benzema netting crucial late goals in the Madrid derby and again against Elche at the weekend where he struck a marvellous winner to make it four games in a row where Real Madrid have scored decisive goals after the 85th minute.
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