Barcelona 2-2 Atalanta: Player Ratings as Barcelona Finish Second in Champions League Table

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·29. Januar 2025

Barcelona 2-2 Atalanta: Player Ratings as Barcelona Finish Second in Champions League Table

Barcelona tied 2-2 with Atalanta in their final game of the Champions League league phase, finishing second in the table.

It was a pretty uneventful first half, with both teams showing extreme caution and the majority of the action taking place far from either goal. Ten minutes from halftime, Atalanta thought they'd scored the opener through Davide Zappacosta, but as it's become a trend this season, Barcelona's back line managed to play him offside and the goal was disallowed after a VAR check.

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Quickly out of the tunnel, Barcelona finally took advantage of Atalanta's high line. Raphinha found Lamine Yamal who went around the goalkeeper and, with a man still on top of him, slotted home the game's opening goal.

Atalanta responded in the 66th minute. Éderson's quick feet allowed him to get past Gavi and fire a bullet from outside the box past Wojciech Szczęsny to tie the game. Five minutes later, Ronald Araújo headed home a corner kick for his first goal of the season to restore Barça's lead. It would only be momentarily, though, as Mario Pašalić scored the equalizer for Atalanta in the 79th minute.

Though they pushed for a winner, the game ended in a tie, as Barcelona were unable to take advantage of Liverpool's loss to overtake them for first place in the table. Nevertheless, Barcelona finish the opening stage of the Champions League among the top two, awaiting the results of the playoff round to better know who they'll face in the round of 16.