Real revive Champions League title defence with win at spirited Atalanta

Bergamo: Real Madrid got their Champions League title defence back up and running yesterday after coming through a tough battle to win 3-2 at Atalanta.

Goals from Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham were just enough for Madrid to triumph in a red-hot atmosphere in Bergamo and move up to nine points from six matches.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side would have been at risk of dropping out of the play-off places but came through a tough test at Serie A leaders Atalanta.

The away side are now three points from the top eight positions which give direct qualification for the last 16 with two matches remaining in their league campaign.

Madrid inflicted on Atalanta a first defeat in this year’s revamped competition and are now only two points behind Gian Piero Gasperini’s ambitious team who performed well against 15-time European champions Madrid but now sit ninth.

Atalanta scored through a Charles De Ketelaere penalty which levelled Mbappe’s opener in first-half stoppage time and a fine Ademola Lookman strike in the 65th minute which put the hosts back in the match after Vinicius and Bellingham’s quickfire goals.

The hosts even came to within inches of snatching a dramatic draw deep in added time when substitute Retegui somehow shot over Lookman’s fizzing cross from from practically on the goalline.

Meanwhile, an 85th-minute goal from Ross Barkley took Aston Villa to a 3-2 win at RB Leipzig yesterday, sending the visitors third in the table and boosting their hopes of a top-eight finish.

Villa were ahead after just 153 seconds thanks to John McGinn, but Leipzig levelled things up midway through the first half when Lois Openda exploited a mix-up in defence.

Jhon Duran’s 53rd-minute stunner was cancelled out by a Christoph Baumgartner goal nine minutes later, setting the stage for the substitute Barkley to blast in just two minutes after coming on.

The goal, a deflected long-range effort, was Barkley’s first in the Champions League and has Villa on track for a top-eight finish in their return to Europe’s top competition after 41 years.

Teams finishing in the top eight qualify directly and avoid an additional set of knockout fixtures.

Liverpool close on progress

Earlier, Champions League group phase leaders Liverpool virtually sealed a place in the last 16 with a tight 1-0 victory at Girona yesterday after Mohamed Salah struck from the penalty spot.

Liverpool have made a stunning start in the competition under coach Arne Slot, winning all six of their matches to move provisionally five points clear of second-placed Inter Milan.

The English giants, six-time winners of the competition, were given a tough night by Champions League debutants Girona, who fell to a fifth defeat and are on the verge of elimination.

Teams finishing in the top eight will avoid an extra round of play-off matches. 

RESULTS
Dinamo Zagreb 0-0 Celtic
Girona 0-1 Liverpool
Atalanta 2-3 Real Madrid
Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 Inter Milan
Brest 1-0 PSV
Club Brugge 2-1 Sporting CP
RB Leipzig 2-3 Aston Villa
Red Bull Salzburg 0-3 PSG
Shakhtar Donetsk 1-5 Bayern Munich

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