Warsaw was the venue for tonight’s UEFA Super Cup, the curtain raiser for the European season. Atalanta earned their place here by beating the unbeatable Bayer Leverkusen in Dublin. Could they go one better and beat Kings of Europe Real Madrid?
Both sides have undergone some changes since their respective finals back in May. While Atalanta have lost Hans Hateboer and brought in young striker Mateo Retegui from Genoa, Real’s business has been slightly bigger.
Los Blancos and their president Florentino Perez have finally gotten their hands on Kylian Mbappe. After one of the longest transfer sagas in recent memory he was presented to a packed Santiago Bernabeu stadium weeks ago.
Tonight he made his eagerly awaited debut for the Champions League holders. A nasty looking injury in the warm-up ruled out fellow France international Eduardo Camavinga but Carlo Ancelotti was well stocked with replacements and started Tchouameni, Bellingham and Valverde in midfield. But the absence of Toni Kroos was sorely felt.
La Dea Dominate First Half
From the first five minutes Atalanta made it known they weren’t here for a day-trip. Immediately they set about imposing themselves on their opponents and rarely subsided for the first half. High pressing and overlapping wing-backs overwhelmed Los Merengues who were a shadow of the team that stormed their way to Champions League glory.
While both sides took time to get into gear it was Atalanta who took off first. Davide Zappacosta and Charles De Ketelaere teamed up on the right wing to cause all sorts of issues. A pattern developed where Real would pick up the ball in defence, give it to Thibaut Courtois and then get stuck.
No Toni Kroos in midfield meant a hole was left and no player seemed ready to bust a gut to sort it out. Completely out of character for Real the keeper was forced to punt it long to no one in particular. Berat Djimsiti and Co. said thank you and headed them back to start another attack.
The game seemed on repeat for large stretches as both looked lethargic and in pre-season mode. A quick throw resulted in a deflected Marten De Roon shot hitting the crossbar just before the half hour mark and for all their pressing and defensive solidity that was all La Dea could manage to throw at Courtois.
Up the other end a misfiring attack was punctuated by the non-existence of Mbappe. Danilo Carvajal exploited open space left behind by attacking full backs and centre backs but it came to nothing. Vinicius was the most lively of all the attackers and we were given a taste of his potential to hurt Atalanta on the stroke of half time when he spotted a gap to play in Rodrygo who hit the crossbar.
Blunt Dea Broken by Los Blancos
Atalanta never looked to have enough quality up front to break through properly. Unfortunately when you’re playing the Kings of Europe, they tend to find a way. After a fantastic save from Courtois on a Mario Pasalic header they seized the initiative and eventually found their first shot on target. They grew into the game thanks in no small part to England star Jude Bellingham.
By the hour mark the screw was turned and Real set their season in motion. Vinicius used his trademark trickery on the right and completely wrongfooted Djimsiti who had been almost flawless till then. He twisted to the byline and squared to Valverde who slotted into the empty net from three meters out. From there Real kept Gasperini’s men under their thumb.
Bellingham looked back to his best after a sub-par Euro 2024 and he was on hand to set up Mbappe’s debut goal in the 68th minute. Rodrygo won back what seemed like a lost cause in the middle , the Englishman filtered a ball through to Mbappe who made a darting run and fired home emphatically into Juan Musso’s top corner from just outside the box.
The new Galacticos are in business.
Gasperini’s side lacked a focal point in attack so Retegui was brought on to remedy this but the game was too far gone. Limited to half chances for the remainder of the match and completely blunted, Atalanta faded slowly. The tables had been turned and there was no reply from the Bergamo outfit. A training session ensued with no meaningful football played in the last ten minutes.
Atalanta, as great a side we know they are couldn’t lay a glove on Real in the second 45. A clear gulf in quality still exists between the good sides and the great sides in European football. As Real raise another Super Cup they seem to disappear further toward the horizon.