Barcelona draws with Atalanta and advances to the round of 16 of the Champions League
Raphinha provides two assists, but Italians manage to draw and qualify for the playoffs
Summary
Barcelona and Atalanta drew 2-2 on Wednesday in the final round of the Champions League first phase at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona. The Spanish team took the lead twice, but the Italians fought back to equalize and managed to prevent the home team from winning. Yamal and Araújo, with two assists from Raphinha, scored for Barcelona, while Éderson and Pasalic scored for Atalanta.
How does it look?
Barcelona finished second and advanced to the round of 16 of the Champions League, with six wins, one draw and one defeat in eight games. Atalanta finished ninth with 15 points, out of direct qualification for the round of 16. The Italians will go to the playoffs, where they will face either Sporting or Club Brugge. Barcelona await Monaco, Brest, PSG or Benfica in the round of 16, depending on the draw and who advances from the playoffs.
Barcelona had the majority of possession in the first half, but Atalanta were the ones who created the most danger. Gasperini’s team created danger on two occasions with Zappacosta. In the first, they were stopped by Sczczesny with a shot from De Ketelaere. Then, the Italian full-back headed the ball over the goal.
Barcelona responded with two attempts from Yamal, which did not pose much of a threat to the goal. Atalanta continued to try to surprise with counterattacks and managed to open the scoring with Zappacosta, but the VAR disallowed the goal for offside by the Italian winger.
In the second half, there was a flurry of goals. Barcelona opened the scoring with a great play by Raphinha, which ended with Yamal opening the scoring in the first minute after the break. Then, Éderson tied the game in the 21st minute, with a beautiful goal from outside the area. Barcelona took the lead again with Araújo’s header from a corner kick taken by Raphinha. At the end of the game, Atalanta equalized with Pasalic.
