In Madrid it ends 3-1: qualification for the quarterfinals never in the balance for Zidane Benzema’s team opens the ball, then Ramos and Asensio score. Muriel scored the Nerazzurri goal
A good initial half hour at Atalanta is not enough to change the adverse fate of a qualification which, after the 0-1 home defeat in the first leg, was already compromised. Real Madrid goes to the quarter-finals of the Champions League and, after letting the Bergamo players vent, has accelerated deserving the passage of the round by virtue of greater experience and a superior technical and athletic rate.
Atalanta aggressive at the start, after only two minutes Muriel (who acts as the only striker, with Zapata on the bench) serves Gosens in the area who wastes a good opportunity by pulling into the arms of Courtois. Real struggling to play, Kroos and Modric suffer the pressure across the board from Bergamo. The dribble of the Spaniards is prolonged but slow and too elaborate. Pasalic and Pessina on the trocar stand out among Gasperini’s men. Well Romero to govern the three-man defense. However, the positive results produced in the first half hour (even without creating dangers for the Madrid rearguard) were thwarted by a serious mistake by Sportiello. At 33 ‘the Atalantino goalkeeper misses an easy disengagement of his foot and serves Modric at the edge of his area: the Croatian already golden ball is ready to feed Benzema who scores almost into an empty net. The unexpected disadvantage changes the inertia of the match and makes Atalanta nervous in which Malinovskyi and Maehle are unable to enter the game.
At the beginning of the second half Gasperini immediately inserts Zapata replacing Pasalic. Atalanta forced to uncover and Real acting on the counterattack: at 51 ‘Vinicius (among the brightest in the field) gets sixty meters ball and chain and after sowing half a defense he kicks a little to the side face to face with Sportiello. Bergamaschi who try everything: in the 56th minute also Ilicic in place of the bruised Gosens. Atalanta does not even have time to organize its forcing that Real closes the qualification speech at 58 ‘: yet another escape of the irresistible Vinicius that Toloi interrupts with a clear foul just inside the area. Captain Sergio Ramos, as usual impeccable from the spot, scores 2-0. Final without big jolts: in the 82nd minute Muriel scores the deserved goal of the flag (Zapata had tried a couple of times, blocked by Courtois) with a nice free-kick from the edge of the area and a couple of minutes later Asensio restores his distances with a left under measure. 3-1, curtain. –