Four slaps and a hope. The first are those that the Bayern Monaco he trimmed to Lazio, the second, however, concerns Atalanta, called to lift the mood of Italian football in the thrilling match against Real Madrid. It is useless to deny it, up until now our round of 17 of the Champions League have been a real disaster: Juve's defeat against Porto was bad, that of the Biancocelesti was devastating in the presence of the German champions of everything. Of course, it was already known that it was an unequal match from the day of the draw, with Inzaghi's team clearly underdogs, but losing like this still hurts. On the eve of the match, the coach had asked his players for an up-to-date performance, capable of keeping the qualification open until the return match on 42 March. He wasn't satisfied, on the contrary it can be said that the games ended in just XNUMX', those necessary for Bayern to score three goals.
The first was literally given by Musacchio, author of a reckless back pass on which Lewandowski pounced with his usual hunger (9 ') and from then on Lazio went crazy, committing a series of unforgivable nonsense at these levels. It should also be said that in the 19th minute, with the result 0-1 (therefore with the match still open), Milinkovic-Savic was brought down by Boateng, but the referee Grinfeeld and Var Martinez Munuera let it go, judging the contact out area: a choice that, looking at the images, seems absolutely wrong. However, it is clear that the episode, however important, cannot erase what happened before and, above all, after.
In the 24th minute the very young Musiala doubled the lead with a right into the bottom corner, in the 42nd minute Sané scored the set after a counterattack triggered by…Patric and Leiva, authors of a nice gift package for the unleashed Coman. Those who hoped for a miraculous second half had to give up already in the 47th minute, when Acerbi deflected a cross from Sané into his goal, certifying the Lazio disaster. Lastly, Correa made it slightly (but just a little) less bitter, setting the score on the final 1-4 with a nice serpentine (49').
“We said we would try to play our game, but we felt it too much – the bitter comment of Inzaghi – We knew we were playing against the world champions, but they should have scored the goals, instead we scored them for them. We gave them at least 3 out of 4. We have made many mistakes, but this will help us a lot for our growth path: obviously we are not yet ready for matches of this type".
Today, however, it's up toAtalanta, expected from the super challenge against Real Madrid (21 hours). Gala evening therefore at the Gewiss Stadium, for an eighth final destined to enter the history of the Orobic club, regardless of the result. Of course, should a victory arrive, the party would be truly complete, especially since, more than ever, beating the Spaniards is a far from impossible mission. Injuries to Marcelo, Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Hazard, Benzema, Rodrygo, Militao, Odriozola and Valverde have added to a performance that is already below the recent past, making Zidane's life very difficult, forced to jump through hoops to put competitive training in the field. On the other hand, however, Real cannot be underestimated regardless: ask Inter about Conte, defeated twice in the group, to ask.
“It is the most titled company in the world, for us it is a pride to meet it, a real event – he explained Gasperini – They have several absences and it is undeniable that this takes away some strength from them, but they are used to playing this competition, so we will have to put all our enthusiasm into play. The goal is to get the return of Madrid still in the running, we want to make a good impression”.
“We are aware of the injured players we have, we will play with those who are here and we know who we face – he confirmed Zidane – It will be a difficult match, but as always it will be a good match in the Champions League and we have to do well”.
The match promises to be fun and spectacular, with Gasperini determined to play it openly from the very first minutes. His Atalanta will take the field with a 3-4-1-2 with Gollini in goal, Toloi, Romero and Djimsiti in defense, Maehle, De Roon, Freuler and Gosens in midfield, Pessina behind the attacking duo formed by Muriel and Zapata, with Ilicic ready to take over from the bench. The many absences will not change Real Madrid's tactical setup, which will respond with a 4-3-3 with Courtois in goal, Vazquez, Varane, Nacho and Mendy in the back, Modric, Casemiro and Kroos in the midfield, Asensio, Mariano Diaz and Vinicius in attack.
