Real Madrid on Tuesday easily overcame Atalanta BC 3-1 at home in their UEFA Champions League last-16 second leg to stroll into the quarter-finals 4-1 on aggregate.
Karim Benzema scored a sixth goal in five games to put the 13-times European champions in charge after 34 minutes, following a poor kick-out by Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Sportiello, which was intercepted by Luka Modric.
Captain Sergio Ramos put Real further at ease when he converted a penalty on the hour, although the Italian side managed to get one goal back thanks to a free-kick from Luis Muriel in the 83rd.
Photo: EPA-EFE
However, any hope they had of making a recovery was dashed a minute later by a low strike from Real substitute Marco Asensio.
Real, who were knocked out in the last 16 by Manchester City last term and Ajax the season before, reached the last eight for the first time since 2018.
Zinedine Zidane’s side is to be the only Spanish team left in Europe’s elite club competition, unless city rivals Atletico Madrid managed to overturn a 1-0 deficit at Chelsea yesterday.
“The most important thing was to get through, as we hadn’t done that the last two years,” Modric said. “We have to take each game as it comes and see how far we get, but tonight we showed that there’s a lot of hunger still in this team — and I hope we can go very far.”
The draw for the rest of the competition is tomorrow.
Atalanta had pulled off away wins over European giants Liverpool and Ajax in the group stage, and nearly got off to an ideal start when Robin Gosens met a Muriel cross in the third minute, but was thwarted by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
The Serie A side continued to harass Real with their high pressing, but the hosts slowly managed to pass their way out of trouble thanks to the experienced heads of midfield duo Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.
Real found the breakthrough on the night thanks to some high pressing of their own, which saw Modric stick out a leg to block Sportiello’s poor kick and then square the ball to Benzema, who calmly stroked it into the net.
“This was a very demanding game,” Modric said. “Atalanta are a very physical team and press you all over the pitch without stopping.”
“I think we played well from the start and we’re very happy to make it to the quarter-finals,” Modric added.
Real’s Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr should have added to their lead after a superb move involving left back Ferland Mendy, but after doing the hard part to coast past Atalanta’s defense, he missed the target from close range.
He made amends by bursting into the penalty area and drawing a foul in the box by Rafael Toloi, allowing Ramos to blast the spot-kick beyond the outstretched Sportiello and effectively end the tie as a contest.
“We came out onto the pitch with the ambition to win the game, to dominate the ball and control the play — and we did that and had chances to score even more goals,” Ramos said. “There’s still a long way to go this season, but this is the right path.”
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
Yassine Bounou on Wednesday saved two penalties, while Youssef en-Nesyri netted the decisive spot-kick as hosts Morocco secured a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Nigeria following a 0-0 draw in a tense Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in Rabat. Morocco, seeking their first continental title in 50 years, are to face 2021 winners Senegal in Sunday’s decider in Rabat, while Nigeria take on Egypt in the third-place playoff tomorrow. The 120 minutes before the shoot-out had few clear-cut chances for either side, but it was Morocco who created more opportunities, although they were denied by some fine saves from Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Nigeria
RSS