Atalanta-Valencia 4-1, quarter finals mortgaged Champions. Gol Hateboer (brace), Ilicic and Freuler (photo Ansa)
MILAN – Atalanta show in the Champions League. The nerazzurri have clearly won against Valencia, with the result of 4-1, and have mortgaged the qualification to the quarterfinals. And to think that the first experience of the Goddess in Europe that counted had started against three consecutive defeats. Then the draw against the battleship City which psychologically unlocked the Gasperini boys .
From that moment on, three straight wins came. The two against Dinamo Zagreb and Shakhtar Donetsk allowed Atalanta to qualify for the Champions League round of 16, that of tonight against Valencia, which approached this seeded match, definitively consecrated the Bergamo players. Now for Atalanta there is no more difference, it gives shows in Europe as well as in Italy.
There was no story in San Siro. The only scoring chances created by Valencia were a kind concession from the Nerazzurri. Torres hit the post after a serious amnesia of the Nerazzurri defense, while Cheryshev scored only thanks to a wrong pass from Palomino. For the Argentine defender, it is the second consecutive serious mistake after the one that allowed Dzeko to unlock the match later won by Atalanta over Roma.
For the rest, only a very large Atalanta. The Nerazzurri have scored four splendid goals and have touched at least as many. Ready to go and Pasalic eats a net from two steps. It is not a mockery, it is only the prelude to the Nerazzurri domain. Shortly thereafter, Hateboer unlocked the game in the 16th minute with a winning touch from two passes on a Papu Gomez cross.
Ilicic doubles at 42 'setting the result of the first half on two to zero. The Slovenian striker received the ball on the edge of the penalty area of Valencia and beat the goalkeeper with a powerful right that ended his run under the crossbar.
In the second half, Atalanta scored two more goals. At 57 ', Freuler focuses from the left and starts a right-footed shot that concludes his race at the edge of the pole. At 63 ', Hateboer escapes on the counterattack and surprises the opposing goalkeeper with a fireball at the near post.
In the final game, Atalanta looked for the fifth goal without finding it. It would have been better to have won four to zero but also the four to one knows of a mortgage because Valencia will play an attacking race, in a desperate attempt to overturn the result of San Siro, and the Goddess will have the opportunity to definitively close the games in fast break.
Source: Blitz Quotidiano