Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini said before the game that the fight against Real for the European trophy would be a big deal for the whole of Bergamo – and that awareness probably gripped his players in the opening minutes of the match.
Real Madrid gave the ball back to Atalanta
The Italian team allowed themselves to be pushed back into their own area and saved themselves from dangerous attacks from their rivals by committing fouls. Less than 10 minutes had passed when Swiss referee Sandro Schaerer showed the first yellow card – seen by Brazilian midfielder Ederson.
However, the pressure from the “Royals” had no effect and after the first quarter of an hour the Spanish team did what they did, among others, against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final: they focused on defending access to their own goal, gave the ball to their opponents and made them “noisy” to each other.
She posed a threat only after counterattacks and set pieces, which she usually won as a result of these counterattacks.
Two crossbars in the first half
The closest Atalanta came to a goal in the first half was when Madrid almost scored themselves. Dutchman Marten de Roon crossed from the right and hit Brazilian defender Eder Militão, and Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois could only watch as the ball bounced off the post and back into the field.
Real’s players also hit the post, but it should have been Rodrygo’s goal. In the first half’s injury time, the Brazilian, unaccompanied, received a pass from his compatriot Vinicius Junior about 10 meters from the goal and had only Argentine goalkeeper Juan Musso in front of him, but he kicked too high – the ball ricocheted off the post and fell out of the field.
Atalanta fans were better in the stands
Kylian Mbappe, who makes his debut for the “Royal” team and played from the first minute of the game, showed several skilful moves in this part of the game, confirming his high technical ability, but Real did not benefit from this. As Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti said, the French star will need some time to get used to his new club’s style of play. He joined on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain this summer.
The “battle” in the stands was definitely won by the Atalanta fans. There was almost constant chanting and shouting coming from their section, while on the other side of the arena the chanting was quite slow. Vinicius Junior drew attention to this at the start of the first half and, with a dynamic gesture, asked Real fans to support more spontaneously.
It was several tens of seconds after Courtois saved his team from losing a goal. In the 47th minute, Croatian Mario Pasalic headed the ball from about ten meters away, but Real’s Belgian goalkeeper made a spectacular save from a corner kick. “We won’t see much better defences this season,” the team commented in a live report on the European Football Union (UEFA) website.
Bellingham assisted Mbappé’s first goal
At 59 minutes, the “Royals” carried out the first effective action: Jude Bellingham passed to Vinicius Junior, entered the area on the left side and passed the ball to Federico Valverdeand the Uruguayan simply pushed it into the empty goal.
This completely changed the game. The winged Real followed up the attack and delivered new blows. Musso was great twice but the Argentine goalkeeper was left helpless in the 68th minute, when England’s Jude Bellingham made a precise pass to Mbappe, who was running into the area.and with a strong shot he scored his first goal in the colors of the Spanish champion.
After this Madrid “storm” that lasted several minutes, the emotions practically died down. The Atalanta players, unhappy with the turn of events, committed many fouls again and their opponents took advantage to gain time.
Real Madrid triumph in Warsaw was watched by a packed crowd
Both teams will start competing in their respective leagues next weekend. Defending champions Real will face Mallorca away on Sunday, while Atalanta will face Lecce on Monday, also at their rivals’ stadium.
On Wednesday, 56,042 spectators sat in the stands of PGE Narodowy in Warsaw. According to UEFA data, all tickets have been sold.
Real Madrid – Atalanta Bergamo 2-0 (0:0)
Goals: Federico Valverde (59), Kylian Mbappé (68)
Yellow card: Real Madrid – Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior; Atalanta-Ederson, Berat Djimsiti
Judge: Sandro Schaerer (Switzerland)
Spectators: 56,042
Real: Thibaut Courtois – Dani Carvajal (88. Lucas Vazquez), Eder Militão, Antioni Ruediger, Ferland Mendy – Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham (88. Dani Ceballos), Aurelien Tchouameni – Rodrygo (76. Luka Modric), Kylian Mbappe (83. Brahim Diaz), Vinicius Junior (88. Arda Guler)
Atalanta: Juan Musso – Berat Djimsiti, Isak Hien (90. Marco Palestra), Sead Kolasinac (70. Mitchel Bakker) – Davide Zappacosta (62. Ben Godfrey), Marten de Roon, Mario Pasalic (90. Alberto Manzoni), Ederson, Matteo Ruggeri – Charles de Ketelaere (62. Mateo Retegui), Ademola Lookman
