One of the standout fixtures of the UEFA Champions League Round 6 pits Atalanta and Real Madrid against each other in Bergamo. Gian Piero Gasperini’s men head into Tuesday’s proceedings in a buoyant mood after a 2-1 home triumph against Milan on Friday extended their remarkable winning run in all competitions to nine matches.
However, facing the record-time European champions and defending title holders a few months after a 2-0 defeat in the UEFA Super Cup is a formidable task. Adding to the difficulty of the situation, Carlo Ancelotti has received a triple injury boost ahead of Real Madrid’s impending visit to Atalanta via Football Espana.
Los Merengues thumped Girona 3-0 in the build-up to their third-ever Champions League clash against Atalanta, with Jude Bellingham maintaining his form resurgence with a goal and an assist. But the English star picked up a minor injury in the process. However, Ancelotti confirmed after the game that his talismanic playmaker is ‘fine.’
Real Madrid will need all hands on deck to beat Atalanta at the Gewiss Stadium after losing back-to-back Champions League games to Milan and Liverpool. Luckily for Ancelotti, Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior will likely board the plane to Italy, with the latter on the verge of recovery after missing the last four games due to injury.
Atalanta would take a giant step toward securing automatic knockout qualification with a win against the defending La Liga champions. Ominously, they’ve lost all three previous European encounters against Real Madrid, failing to score on two occasions.
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