Freuler's controversial removal and Mendy's spectacular goal

In the first match of the 1/8 finals of the Champions League, Zinedine Zidane could not immediately count on nine players from the base and the nearest reserve.

Sergio Ramos, Daniel Carvajal, Eden Hazard, Karim Benzema and others did not appear on the field of the stadium in Bergamo, as a result of which Real Madrid appeared in the experimental composition.

But if everyone has long been accustomed to Lucas Vasquez on the right flank of the defense, the appearance of the nominal midfielder Isco in the place of the center forward looked extremely curious.

Despite the colossal staffing problems and guest status, it was Real Madrid that established control of the ball.

Preferring to own a territorial advantage, Atalanta was forced to retreat to its own half and very quickly made a mistake.

Ferlan Mendy could take advantage of the sluggishness of the opponent's defenders and break into the penalty area, but was knocked down by Remo Freuler.

The violation of the rules was not in doubt, but the decision of the referee Tobias Stieler to present the Swiss with a red card became rather controversial.

Although the footboard turned out to be tough, it could hardly be regarded as a “foul of the last resort”.

One way or another, the video assistant did not influence the referee's opinion, and the Italians were in the minority already in the 17th minute.

Until now, no Serie A team has earned a removal in the Champions League so quickly, and for the last seven years ex-Milan player Ricardo Montolivo (22nd minute) held an anti-record.

In the course of the first half, Atalanta's position only worsened.

Stieler's decisions have repeatedly puzzled the players and the home team's coaching staff, and the guests continued to build up pressure on Pierluigi Gollini's goal.

Plus, Duvan Zapata was forced to leave the field due to damage.

The forward received a muscle injury and gave way to ex-Spartak midfielder Mario Pashalich.

However, this did not help the Bergamascans much.

If before the release of Pashalich, Madrid had only three hits, then by the end of the half their number had grown to seven.

In stoppage time, Rafael Varane could have closed the pass from a free-kick performed by Toni Kroos, who played the 308th meeting for the royal club, but did not succeed.

The second half was in a similar vein.

Bled by injuries, “Real” tried to break into the massive defense of “Atalanta”, but for this they simply did not have enough resources.

There was no one to strengthen the game.

The bench consisted entirely of young people, with the exception of Mariano Diaz, famous for his performances for Lyon.

It began to seem that the match in Bergamo would end in a goalless draw, but the same Mendy had his say.

The French defender was in the center of the field and sent the ball into the corner from his right, uncomfortable foot.

For him, this goal was the eighth in his career and the third in a Real Madrid jersey.

It is worth noting that Mendy's impact was preceded by an extremely interesting episode.

In the 86th minute, Gian Piero Gasperini made a double substitution, during which Ruslan Malinovsky and Jose Palomino appeared on the field.

At the same time, one of the main stars of Atalanta, Josip Ilicic, who himself left the bench only half an hour ago, left him.

The Slovenian was extremely dissatisfied with the coach's decision and immediately went to the room under the stands, and his partners made a fatal mistake and sharply lowered the chances of repeating last year's result.  

As for Alexei Miranchuk, after the removal of Freiler, his chances of taking part in the match seemed low.

Atalanta was forced to focus on defense, and in such conditions, the Russian could hardly show his best qualities.

True, the Italians looked so depressing in attack that the appearance of a creative football player on the field would not hurt.

Bergamaski struck only two shots on goal.

However, they never hit the target - the last time this happened to them in April 2019.

Then the goalkeeper of "Inter" was left without work.

Silva's performance and Borussia's passivity

In terms of the balance of power, the confrontation between Borussia Mönchengladbach and Manchester City was reminiscent of the meeting between Lazio and Bayern.

Like the current winners of the Champions League, Josep Guardiola's wards were considered clear favorites and from the first minutes they began to demonstrate the difference in class.

In the first half, the British had more possession of the ball (61% - 39%) and never allowed an opponent to disturb Ederson.

Themselves they struck four times on goal and pretty quickly were able to distinguish themselves in a foreign field.

Bernardo Silva finished off the top serve in the performance of João Canselo and scored the 35th goal for the Citizens.

And in the middle of the second half, the Portuguese established himself as one of the main creators of Manchester City's success.

Moreover, a combination with the participation of two compatriots - Silva and Canselu, again took to the exact blow.

João again performed a serve from the left edge, but this time Bernardo decided not to hit himself, but to execute a discount on Gabriel Jesus.

He got ahead of the defender and dealt with Jan Sommer without any problems.

In the remaining time, Guardiola's charges slowed down a bit.

They continued to possess the ball with the same confidence, but created significantly fewer chances.

The players from Mönchengladbach took advantage of this and avoided repeating the fate of Atalanta, yet forcing Ederson into the game.

True, the most dangerous episode at the gate of the guests arose after a heel kick performed by Alassane Plea.

Dennis Zakaria's transfer was not very convenient, but the Frenchman almost converted it into a goal.

As a result, the "townspeople" not only secured themselves a solid advantage over the return leg, but also established several achievements at once.

Manchester City have not conceded in the 24th meeting of the season in all competitions, and also repeated the achievement of fellow countrymen from United ten years ago, leaving the goal intact in the first four away Champions League games.

In addition, Guardiola's team won their 12th consecutive victory and surpassed their own record set in November 2017.

Among other things, Manchester City and Real Madrid have helped establish a unique achievement in the history of the Champions League.

Previously, the guests have never won seven victories in the first matches of the 1/8 finals.

It is worth recalling that for the first time the tournament was held in this format in the 2003/04 season.

Up to this point, it included two group stages, after which eight of the best teams fought for the main trophy.