Indomitable Atalanta: rallying twice to earn a draw in Barcelona
The showdon in Spain finishes deadlocked at 2-2
With a stellar team effort, Atalanta came away with a well-earned draw on Barcelona's home turf. As the curtains fell on the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League League Phase MD8, the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys thriller finished all square at 2-2. Wrapping up the League Phase in ninth place with 15 points, Atalanta will take on either Sporting CP or Club Brugge in the playoffs.
Taking the plunge first, Atalanta threatened on 10 minutes, when Szczesny's save after a Balde clearance almost resulted in an own goal while trying to intercept De Ketelaere’s finish from Zappacosta’s cross. Not a minute had passed that Barcelonas responded with Yamal, narrowly missing the post to Carnesecchi's right. The Nerazzurri had another crack on 13 minutes, as Retegui forced a diving save from Szczesny, who turned our 32's effort behind for a corner. In the 36th minute, Zappacosta found the back of the net, but the VAR ruled out the goal for a razor-thin offside.
The second half kicked off with a powerful outside-the-box strike from de Roon, who went a hair's breadth off target. The deadlock broke on 47 minutes as Yamal went solo and bypassed the black-and-blue keeper to give Barcelona the lead. Atalanta hit back immediately, with Pašalić making a well-timed run through the centre and forcing a save from Szczesny in the 50th minute. Carnesecchi then pulled off a great save to deny Raphinha’s bending free kick. After Lewandowski surged forward on the counter, Carnesecchi saved Atalanta once again, denying Yamal’s effort to make it 2-0 in the 63rd minute. On 67 minutes Atalanta drew level with a brilliant strike from Éderson, who received the ball at the edge of the box, dribbled past a defender, and fired a powerful, angled shot into the net to make it 1-1. The hosts restored their lead in the 72nd as Araujo capitalized on a corner kick situation. But Atalanta refused to throw in the towel, and in the 79th minute they pulled level: de Roon picked out Pašalić in the box, who held off his marker and slotted the ball past the keeper with a clinical finish to make it 2-2. Despite ending the match with ten men after Scalvini’s injury, having used all their substitutions, the Nerazzurri dug in and withstood Barcelona’s last-ditch efforts.
BARCELONA 2-2 ATALANTA
Scorers: Lamine Yamal 47 (B), Éderson 67 (A), Araujo 72 (B), Pašalić 79 (A).
FC Barcelona: Szczesny, Koundé, Araujo, Eric Garcia (Cubarsì 69), Balde, De Jong, Pedri (Casadò 80), Lamine Yamal (Pau Victor 95), Gavi (Fermin Lopez 69), Raphinha, Lewandowski (Ferran Torres 69). Unused bench: Inaki Pena, Kochen, Ansu Fati, Torre, Pau Victor, Fort, Gerard Martin. Coach: Hans-Dieter Flick.
Atalanta: Carnesecchi, Djimsiti, Hien, Kolašinac (Scalvini 55), Bellanova (Cuadrado 77), de Roon, Éderson, Zappacosta (Ruggeri), Pašalić, De Ketelaere (Brescianini 87), Retegui (Zaniolo 77). Unused bench: Rui Patrício, Rossi, Toloi, Samardžić, Cassa, Palestra, Vlahović. Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini.
Referee: Michael Oliver (ENG);
Assistant referees: Stuart Burt (ENG) and James Mainwaring (ENG);
Fourth official: Andrew Madley (ENG);
V.A.R.: Jarred Gillett (ENG);
A.V.A.R.: Darren England (ENG).
Notes: Kolašinac (A), de Roon (A), Éderson (A) and Pašalić (A) booked.