Three talking points from Atalanta’s 2-0 loss to Real Madrid in UEFA Super Cup | OneFootball

Atalanta surely missed Teun Koopmeiners in the UEFA Super Cup clash against Real Madrid last night, while Mateo Retegui must settle in quickly in Bergamo. Here are three talking points from La Dea’s loss to Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

Atalanta caused trouble for Real Madrid for 47 minutes but then capitulated to the quality of Real Madrid’s stars, especially Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, and Kylian Mbappé, who scored his first goal with the Merengues in the second half.

Atalanta will make their 2024-25 Serie A debut on Monday and Football Italia analyses what the defeat to Madrid means to Gian Piero Gasperini’s boys.

Atalanta regrets

Not only did La Dea have their best chance in the game with Mario Pasalic, only a few minutes before Madrid’s opener, but they also conceded both goals in a similar fashion. Carlo Ancelotti’s men first recovered the ball high up the pitch from a poor Juan Musso pass and then Rodrygo stole the ball from Isak Hien’s feet to spark a counter-attack and help Bellingham set up Mbappé for his first goal in Madrid. The La Liga giants dominated in the second half and Musso provided a couple of key saves between their goals to keep La Dea in the game. However, the way Atalanta conceded proves there is still room for improvement and that with some extra attention, the Nerazzurri can challenge the top clubs in Italy this term and beyond, remaining steadily among the top four.

Missing link

It is evident that Dutch star Koopmeiners was sorely missed. The 26-year-old is pushing to join Juventus and hasn’t trained with his teammates over the last few days. Gasp said on the eve of the Madrid game that the Dutchman was “the real victim” of the situation, but La Dea has also been hugely affected. With 15 goals and seven assists in 51 games, Koopmeiners proved his quality in the final third last season and Atalanta would have needed more of the same last night. They probably played better than Real Madrid in the first half but failed to finalise their attacks and find a player to turn their strikers on with through balls.

Retegui

The Italy international had only played 45 minutes with Atalanta prior to last night’s match. La Dea quickly signed him to replace his compatriot Gianluca Scamacca, another player Gasp desperately needed last night. Charles De Ketelaere and Ademola Lookman’s heatmaps from last night’s game prove that both Atalanta strikers tried to find space down the flanks rather than in the middle, suggesting that Retegui will need to settle in quickly to fill Scamacca’s shoes and become a point of reference in the heart of the opponents’ box. The ex-Genoa striker understandably struggled last night, but all the pressure will be on him this season as Atalanta will need a reliable and consistent goal scorer to challenge the top sides in Serie A and Champions League.