Bayern to face Atalanta | OneFootball

A stunning comeback, three red cards and a winning penalty deep in added time: there was no shortage of entertainment in Atalanta’s 4-1 success over Borussia Dortmund in the play-off second leg on Wednesday evening. Thanks to a ruthlessly efficient display, the Bergamo club are into the round of 16 in the Champions League, where they face German opposition again. Find out here what FC Bayern can expect in their clash with coach Raffaele Palladino’s side.

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Atalanta’s current form

Atalanta are right in the hunt for the European places in Serie A. With 26 games played, La Dea occupy seventh place, level on points with sixth-placed Como and just one behind Juventus in fifth. Having not lost in the league since the turn of the year, Palladino’s men should be hopeful of playing European football again next season. With recent wins over Napoli (2-1), Juventus (3-0) and Roma (1-0) – who are all above them in the table – the Bergamo club have proven in impressive fashion that they can trip up the top teams in Italy. Bayern should be warned.

The squad: Plenty of household names

In between veterans and youngsters, there are several players in the Atalanta squad who are at the peak of their careers. Like Nikola Krstović, for example: the 26-year-old is currently the team’s top scorer with seven goals in Serie A. The Bayern defence will also pay close attention to Italy striker Gianluca Scamacca (27), who’s netted six goals. Despite the winter departure of star man Ademola Lookman to Atlético Madrid, Atalanta don’t need to worry about lacking power in attack. There’s also Berlin-born Lazar Samardžić, 24, who’s found the net three times in eight Champions League games this term. The former Hertha and Leipzig midfielder scored a perfect penalty at the death in the play-off second leg against Dortmund.

Coach Palladino has coped well with the absence of key pair Charles De Ketelaere (24) and Giacomo Raspadori (26) due to injury, given that he’s overseen a nine-match unbeaten run in the league. Looking at the defence, a few familiar names stand out from the Bundesliga: ex-Schalke man Sead Kolašinac (32) is a leading figure for ‘The Goddess’, while 25-year-old Odilon Kossounou joined last summer from Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Midfielder Mitchel Bakker (25) has also played for the Werkself previously. Germany international Robin Gosens made 157 competitive appearances for Atalanta between 2017 and 2022.

Greatest successes

Atalanta celebrated the greatest success in the club’s history in the 2023/24 campaign, when Lookman and Co won the Europa League with an impressive 3-0 win over Leverkusen in the final. Along with one Serie C title and five Serie B championships, there’s a Coppa Italia in the Lombardy club’s trophy cabinet from 1963. Since the 2016/17 campaign, Atalanta have featured regularly in Europe. Now they take on FC Bayern for the first time on the big stage – let the knockout phase begin!

Quarter- and semi-finals: What could follow

Friday’s draw also mapped out Bayern’s path for the rest of the tournament if they get past Atalanta. The Munich men were placed in the silver half of the bracket and would meet the winners of the heavyweight clash between Real Madrid and Manchester City in the quarter-finals. In the semis, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Liverpool or Galatasaray would await.

The finalists from the blue half will come from Arsenal, Leverkusen, FK Bodø/Glimt, Sporting Lisbon, Atlético Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and FC Barcelona.