Sid Lowe was at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium for this one. His report has landed, so you know the pack drill: click, swipe, prod or tap, depending on your device. There’s also news of Manchester City’s procession to the quarters, courtesy of Jamie Jackson. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
FULL TIME: Real Madrid 3-1 Atalanta (agg: 4-1)
It was easy for Real in the end, the better team on the night. Even so, Atalanta had their chances, and had Robin Gosens tucked away his early close-range effort, or the referee allowed Luis Muriel to run on goal instead of blowing up right on 45 minutes, the story could have been different. But the 13-time winners make the quarters, deservedly so, Karim Benzema, Sergio Ramos and Marco Asensio taking advantage of a series of defensive mistakes by the Italian underdogs. It’s up to Lazio to keep Italy’s flag flying ... and they’re 4-1 down against the reigning champs.
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90 min +4: Real stroke it around, running down the clock in elegant style.
90 min +2: Benzema tears down the right and tees up Rodrygo, whose elaborate dink is batted away by Sportiello.
90 min: There will five minutes of added time.
88 min: Ah hold on, I’ve forgotten about Ilicic, who lit a fire under Atalanta after coming on.
87 min: Malinovskyi lashes over from distance. Along with Muriel, he’s one of only two Atalanta players not to have disappointed tonight.
86 min: That was such a clever free kick by Atalanta, and it briefly gave the Italians a lifeline. But it frayed in double-quick time.
GOAL! Real Madrid 3-1 Atalanta (Asensio 84); agg 4-1
Nope. Atalanta make two changes before the restart, and confuse themselves. Caldara and Miranchuk come on for Pessina and Muriel, then Benzema races down the right and rolls across to Asensio, who fires into the bottom left. The keeper should have done better.
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GOAL! Real Madrid 2-1 Atalanta (Muriel 83); agg 3-1
It’s not quite over yet. Atalanta score with a wonderfully designed free kick. Muriel prepares to take. He’s got three of his teammates lined up in front of the ball, facing the goal. As the whistle goes, the three men peal off in all directions, causing all manner of confusion. Muriel whips the ball into the top right, and they couldn’t, could they?
82 min: Varane slides into Romero on the edge of his own D. Free kick in a very dangerous position. Before it can be taken, Real replace Valverde with Asensio.
80 min: Atalanta are pinging it around nicely now, but it’s far too little, far too late.
78 min: Muriel sashays down the inside left and tries a shot from the edge of the box. It’s deflected out for a corner. Nothing comes of it.
77 min: Kroos is booked for a cynical check on Ilicic.
76 min: Huge chances at both ends. Malinovskyi slips Zapata clear down the inside right. Zapata shoots straight at Courtois. Then Rodrygo jinks down the left and into the box, but instead of shooting, tries to walk the ball into the net and runs out of road.
75 min: Maehle powers down the left and wins a corner. The delivery is again poor, but the ball’s only half cleared and finds Maehle, on the edge of the D. His rising drive is straight at Courtois, who claims.
73 min: Nacho is booked for clipping Ilicic from behind.
71 min: A free kick for Atalanta out on the left, and a chance to load the box. Muriel delivers the free kick over a crowded area and straight into the arms of Courtois. Despite it all, Atalanta have had their opportunities, but they’ve wasted every one of them.
69 min: The excellent Vinicius Junior makes way for Rodrygo.
68 min: Vazquez crosses from the right. Benzema heads towards the top left from six yards. Sportiello parries sensationally. Benzema tries to guide the rebound into the same corner, but his second header hits the bar. Atalanta clear.
67 min: ... and here’s something! Malinovskyi plays a delicious reverse pass down the middle of the park to release Zapata. He’s one on one with Courtois ... but slams his shot straight at the keeper. The rebound comes off Varane’s chest. Atalanta claim for a spot kick, but come off it and come on. That should have been a goal.
66 min: Atalanta need something, and quickly, if they’re to launch an unlikely comeback. Ilicic combines with Zapata down the inside right to win a corner, but Malinovskyi’s delivery is easy pickings for Courtois.
64 min: Sergio Ramos’s work here is done. He goes off, grinning like the proverbial cream-whiskered cat, to be replaced by Eder Militao.
63 min: Pessina drags a shot across the face of the Real goal. It’s harmless, although it’s the best Atalanta have managed since that gilt-edged chance for Gosens in the second minute.
61 min: You have to wonder whether Toloi should have been sent off for the challenge that gave away the penalty. He didn’t really make much of an effort to play the ball. That may explain why, having only been booked, he’s been immediately replaced by Jose Luis Palomino.
GOAL! Real Madrid 2-0 Atalanta (Ramos 60 pen); agg 3-0
After the inevitable VAR check, Ramos is permitted to take the penalty. He fires towards the bottom left. It’s not a particularly good spot kick, Sportiello getting a hand to the ball, but the keeper can only palm into the corner. This is over.
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Penalty to Real Madrid!
58 min: Vinicius Junior is an exceptional talent. He latches onto a looks Malinovskyi pass in the midfield and whistles down the inside-left channel. He makes it to the edge of the box. Toloi puts his foot out, flush on the white line, and brings his man down. Penalty.
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57 min: Nope, Gosens can’t continue. He’s replaced by last year’s four-goals-at-a-time hero Josip Ilicic.
56 min: Gosens grimaces as he rubs his groin. Not sure he’ll be able to continue. The physio comes on to assess his trouser arrangement.
54 min: Vinicius Junior is inelegantly upended just to the left of the Atalanta D by Toloi. He should be awarded a free kick, but the referee allows play to go on, because Mendy has the ball. The hero of the first leg tries his luck again, but this time his shot goes straight at the keeper.
52 min: Muriel scampers down the left again. His ball infield isn’t all that, but it’s another sign that Atalanta could grab a goal that would change everything. Although then Real break, Vinicius Junior dribbling down the left, gliding inside, jinking past three defenders, and flicking a shot inches wide of the right-hand post. That would have been one hell of a solo goal.
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51 min: Muriel rolls a pass infield from the left. Zapata backflicks cleverly down the channel, hoping to release Gosens, but there’s a little too much juice on the pass and it flies through to Courtois.
49 min: How much help the wind will be is a moot point. Sportiello gently launches a kick upfield and the ball sails out of play for a goal kick to Madrid.
47 min: Atalanta have the wind behind them, literally, in this second half. They’re on the front foot early doors, probing down both flanks, albeit to little effect.
Real get the second half underway. Atalanta have made one half-time change, replacing Mario Pasalic up front with Duvan Zapata.
Half-time reading.
HALF TIME: Real Madrid 1-0 Atalanta (agg: 2-0)
The whistle goes for half-time, bang on 45 minutes. You don’t see that too often, and it’s cost Atalanta dearly, because on 44 minutes and 59 seconds, Romero slipped a ball down the middle to release Muriel on goal! He was clear and onside, but didn’t get the opportunity to shoot. That’s ... very strange.
43 min: Atalanta worry Real again, Malinovskyi looping a pass down the right, Muriel giving chase. Courtois comes to the edge of his box. Muriel threatens to get there first, but Varane arrives on scene to head away and save his keeper’s blushes.
42 min: Of course an Atalanta goal would change things completely, putting the tie back on a knife-edge, and Malinovskyi tries his luck from 30 yards out on the right. It flies well wide left of goal, but for a second Real hearts were in mouths.
40 min: Nacho romps down the left, covering the best part of 70 yards. He eventually runs out of room, and it’s a goal kick, but that illustrates the wind in Real’s sail, and the despondency of their opponents.
39 min: But there are limits, and Valverde goes into the book for a petulant flick at De Roon’s heel.
37 min: Nacho is taken out mid-air by Gosens, just inside the Atalanta box, as the ball sails over both of their heads. No penalty, though you’ve seen them given. The referee is in a very generous mood this evening.
36 min: That gift, all tied up in pretty blue and black ribbons, means this game can’t go to extra time. That early miss by Gosens gains even greater significance now.
GOAL! Real Madrid 1-0 Atalanta (Benzema 34); agg 2-0
A howler from Sportiello! The Atalanta keeper has the ball at his feet. He hoicks it straight at Modric, 30 yards out. Modric takes a stride down the inside right before slipping the ball infield for Benzema, who slams home. Oh dear.
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32 min: Real continue to stroke it about. Atalanta’s early menace has all but disappeared.
30 min: Vinicius Junior is a total menace. He embarks on another sizzling run down the left, entering the box only to lose his feet and run the ball out of play. Romero had given him a very sly shove in the back to knock him off balance; had he gone down, the officials would have had a decision to make. Honest Vinicius Junior!
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28 min: Vinicius Junior’s shot hit Djimsiti’s elbow, but the defender’s arm was in a natural position, he had his back to play, and there was next to no space between the two players. Neither referee nor VAR shows interest, and to be fair Real don’t make any great claim.
27 min: Suddenly they pick up the pace. Vinicius Junior hares down the inside left, one-twos with Benzema, and shapes to shoot from the penalty spot. The keeper Sportiello, having been sold the dummy by Benzema’s return, is out of the game, but Djimsiti slides across to block sensationally. What a stop!
26 min: It’s been high-octane stuff since the start, so Real slow things down a bit with some sterile possession in the middle of the park.
24 min: Romero crunches into a tackle on Vazquez. The referee sees nothing wrong with it, but the margin for error was slim, coming in as he was from behind. Also, he’d miss the first leg of the quarter final should he be booked and Atalanta make it through.
22 min: Muriel has a whack from distance. His shot is blocked. Both teams are looking effervescent in attack.
20 min: Benzema and Vinicius Junior exchange crisp passes down the inside left. A chance for Benzema to shoot! But his low, hard drive is blocked quickly by Romero. After a shaky start, the hosts are beginning to carry some threat.
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19 min: Vinicius Junior slides gracefully along the left touchline, then the byline, before looping a cross towards nobody in particular. That run will have reminded Atalanta of Real’s threat, and the danger of pressing too hard for the goal they need.
17 min: This has been an excellent start by the Italian side, who look perfectly capable of scoring an away goal. Or two.
15 min: Romero tries to meet the free kick with a spectacular scissor effort. Real half clear, but Atalanta win a corner on the left. From that, Djimsiti, on the edge of the box, creams a rising shot over the bar.
14 min: But Atalanta come again, and Mendy clumsily fouls Toloi near the right-hand corner flag. A free kick and the Atalanta defender has taken quite a whack there, limping away gingerly. However he looks good to continue and gets into the mixer ahead of the free kick.
13 min: Muriel slides a clever ball down the inside-left channel, nearly releasing Pasalic into the box. Modric does extremely well to get a toe in, conceding a corner from which nothing comes.
12 min: It’s pretty windy so progressive passing moves are at a premium right now.
10 min: Real stroke it around for the first time this evening. They don’t really go anywhere but a period of sustained possession always helps to settle any nerves.
8 min: Venicius Junior drops a shoulder and nearly wriggles free down the inside-left channel, but Toloi puts a stop to his gallop. The Real striker wants a free kick, but he’s not getting one. The referee is in a very liberal mood, by the looks of it, his laissez-faire attitude slotting neatly into the Dutch stereotype.
6 min: Atalanta have started very much on the front foot. They’re not afraid to commit plenty of men to attack, and they’ve launched three already. Real haven’t got past this stage for two years, so there may be a few nerves in their camp.
4 min: Now De Roon clatters into Valverde. The referee remains lenient, but you sense the next Atalanta player to foul may find themselves in a spot of bother.
3 min: Atalanta should have the away goal they need. Muriel dribbles down the left and reaches the byline, before pulling back to Gosens, on the edge of the six-yard box. He should score, but leans back and wafts weakly straight at Courtois! What a miss, albeit one that will give the visitors hope.
2 min: Malinovskyi leaves an early one on Nacho. You’d think he’d see yellow for that, but the referee wants to keep his cards in his pocket for a while.
Atalanta get the Adidas Finale 21 rolling. It’s a clear but chilly night at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano in Madrid.
The teams are out! Real Madrid in their famous meringue-white clobber, Atalanta in their Internazionalesque nerazzurri. A quick blast of Uefa’s bespoke version of Zadok the Priest, and we’ll be off.
Tonight’s match ball. It’s the Adidas Finale 21. No need for further explanation, except to say I never thought I’d miss transcribing the pre-match interviews. It’s been an age since the teams dropped. Still, it all helps to ramp up the excitement and expectation, huh.
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Real make three changes from the team selected in Bergamo. Sergio Ramos and Karim Benzema return from injury, while Federico Valverde replaces the suspended Casemiro. Marco Asensio and Isco drop to the bench. Eden Hazard is injured again.
Atalanta also make three changes from their first-leg starting XI. Remo Freuler is suspended after his red card, so Ruslan Malinovskyi takes his place. Duvan Zapata is stood down in favour of Mario Pasalic, while goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini makes way for Marco Sportiello.
The teams
Real Madrid: Courtois, Nacho, Varane, Sergio Ramos, Mendy, Modric, Kroos, Valverde, Lucas, Benzema, Vinicius Junior.
Subs: Eder Militao, Asensio, Marcelo, Lunin, Isco, Rodrygo, Altube, Duro.
Atalanta: Sportiello, Toloi, Romero, Djimsiti, Maehle, de Roon, Pessina, Gosens, Malinovsky, Pasalic, Muriel.
Subs: Palomino, Lammers, Caldara, Rossi, Ruggeri, Ghislandi, Miranchuk, Ilicic, Zapata, Gollini.
Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands).
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Preamble
The first leg of this tie was fairly uneventful. Atalanta found themselves down to ten men early doors, Remo Freuler sent off on 17 minutes, so hunkered down. Real Madrid toiled and toiled, but eventually a late long-range shot by Ferland Mendy earned them a precious away goal and a 1-0 victory. Here’s how it panned out on the MBM, and here’s Sid Lowe’s match report.
On the face of it, you’d think that would be enough for Real, if history is your guide. They’ve won the first leg away 35 times in Uefa competition, and have only twice failed to seal the deal: against Odense in the 1994/95 Uefa Cup, and Ajax at this stage of the Champions League two seasons ago.
But the boys from Bergamo retain hope. Atalanta have won their last five European away games, to an aggregate score of 14-3, and eight of their last dozen on the road, drawing one and losing just three. It’s a formidable record. It’s also easy to forget that Gian Piero Gasperini’s exciting team were a couple of minutes away from last season’s semi-finals, before PSG performed a sickening smash and grab. This is far from over.
So will Real, embarking on their 51st European Cup campaign, make it to the last eight for the 36th time? Or will Atalanta prevail instead, repeating the feat of their debut year by making it two quarter-final appearances from two? Kick off at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano in Madrid is at 8pm GMT (9pm local), and only a 1-0 win for Atalanta can take this tie to extra time and penalties. It’s on!
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