Real Madrid – Atalanta BC: Kylian Crowns The Continental Conquest (2-0)
In a summer of success, the fanfare in the Spanish capital can continue with the Super Cup for its premier club. Real Madrid might have found a way to be even better. As a window into the future, the new ornament in their crown took a first step towards the fulfillment of his destiny.
Tactical analysis and match report by Emmanuel Adeyemi-Abere.
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In the modern era, systems and structures drive discourse about the game. Yet, the latest edition of the UEFA Super Cup marks a countercultural clash whose two teams have reigned in realms of disorder.
Atalanta answered prayers for a perfect pinnacle to their ascent. Gian Piero Gasperini grasped a top four spot for the fourth time in his term, but silverware stubbornly was out of his reach. After a third Coppa Italia final defeat in five years, Bayer Leverkusen were in view. But all events happen in the time of the divinities: the invincibles fell to the immortals. Their manic man marking mangled plans on the pitch, fighting for parity as if the Italians were still rank outsiders. No doubt that they are here.
Real Madrid are the masters of the Champions League. A two goal victory over Borussia Dortmund marked a 15th triumph in the final— more than double the tally of any other club in Europe. The stars of the story are always the players. Carlo Ancelotti allows his individuals to trust their instincts above all other instructions, reaping the rewards of his faith from the dugout. His squad slipped to only two losses all campaign. Their indomitability is even greater with the arrival of one of the world’s best.
Ancelotti altered three names from the lineup he used at Wembley. Nacho now plays in Saudi Arabia and Toni Kroos called time on his career. Éder Militão moved into the heart of the back four, while Aurélien Tchouaméni, who missed the occasion with a foot injury, returned to the middle of the park. Eduardo Camavinga sat on the bench, and compatriot, Kylian Mbappé, earned his competitive debut.
Gasperini fielded the five defenders from the night, and Éderson acted as an anchor in midfield. His partner, Teun Koopmeiners, has eyes on a transfer and was absent from the squad. Marten de Roon rotated in the selection with Mario Pašalić. While Gianluca Scamacca sat out of the action with an ACL injury, their hat-trick hero was back. Ademola Lookman locked down a role in the offense.
Rusty Real put to the test
Atalanta laid out their typical assault. They set out in a 3-4-1-2 pressing shape. Lookman and Charles de Ketelaere split between the central defenders, Pašalić pushed next to Tchouaméni, and full scale marking muddied the affair. De Roon and Éderson tracked Jude Bellingham and Federico Valverde while the defense accepted little protection at the back against the dribbling and dynamism from the three forwards. It was a risk that Atalanta are often willing to take. But at what cost on this occasion?
Madrid frequently resorted to rotations at the back with the ball. The two central defenders pushed forward, drawing their markers with them, and Thibaut Courtois kicked downfield. It was the type of vertical play that suited the style of the Italians. Isak Hien had the upper hand in aerial duels against Mbappé. Blue and black shirts reset to stall advances while fouls and physical approaches interrupted the flow of the offense. It would take time for the Champions League winners to cope with this task.
13th minute: offensive sequence from Real Madrid. Rodrygo ran ahead of Vinícius, who was able to separate from Djimsiti and face forward on the ball. Once he cuts inside off the wing, Rodrygo drifts out of access, while Pašalić and de Roon converge around Bellingham. Mbappé now has to explode leftward to connect with the wide forward. Bellingham’s forward sprint is inaccessible once the Brazilian shifts outward and the angles are favorable for Hien to force Mbappé to the touchline.
Constant pressure also puts a psychological toll on opponents. Even Madrid are not immune. Twice Tchouaméni turned over the ball in his third of the pitch with needless ball contacts near Courtois while Rüdiger’s recovery powers put out the flames from a possible transition through Lookman. Rodrygo rattled the bar on the stroke of half time, but the tactics nullified a star studded front four.
Atalanta attack with mercy
Albeit with an early lead, Atalanta’s approach in the Europa League final had favored a negative share of the ball. Similarly, in the first quarter of an hour of this contest, Madrid kept 66% of the possession. Still, there were a few phases in which the Italians forced their opponents to defend. Madrid managed their time off the ball in a 4-4-2 layout. Mbappé and Vinícius were most likely to sit from the front of this formation, while Bellingham brought legs with Valverde and Tchouaméni into the midfield band.
Atalanta filtered out to the wider channels, growing into the match as the time elapsed. Scamacca’s absence meant no fixed presence to find from the center of the pitch, but the movement of Lookman in the halfspace compensated. He added life to their attacks with fast feet to get free from Militão in the inside left channel. From this same zone on the edge of the box, he twice struck without success.
From this foundation, De Ketelaere called for the ball in a higher position. He tended to drift further out towards the right in the final third, where he could connect with de Roon and Davide Zappacosta. Djimsiti also dribbled into the available space to bridge gaps to his teammates and supplement the adaptions on that side of the field. However, the interactions were not enough to open the scoring.
23rd minute: offensive sequence from Atalanta BC. Djimsiti dribbled forward, and then moved inside the block, pushing Madrid’s midfield backward before his reception of the ball. Zappacosta passed inside and ran off the back of Bellingham, drawing the attention of Ferland Mendy and Rüdiger. De Ketelaere asks for the ball on the half turn to go towards the goal, but Djimsiti turns away from the option. On many occasions, Atalanta struggled to get moving towards the goal from this zone.
Class is permanent
In a context where individuals fought one on one, a certain battle was bearing fruit for Real Madrid. Bellingham’s mobility was too much for de Roon, repeatedly running deep and away from the captain towards the left before the break. He transcended in the second half. His brute physique and rugged ball carrying caught the eye as spaces opened for him and other white shirts to open up their legs.
The favorites forged the lead on the verge of the hour mark. Juan Musso hooked forward the ball under pressure, and Mendy won an aerial duel to turn the possession to Bellingham. The midfielder motioned to his left, releasing a pass to Vinícius. The Brazilian bounded outside Djimsiti, slipping a flat cross into the six yard box. Valverde duly lapped up the opportunity with the simplest of strikes.
The stars aligned for the signature signing to cap off his debut with a dream goal in the 68th minute. Courtois clipped a long ball beyond the halfway line, and Hien had mopped up the scene. However, Rodrygo robbed control of the possession off the dribble and drove forward on the break. Vinícius veered into space; though he could not connect with Mbappé upon the first opening, the Frenchman foraged for room. He accelerated through de Roon’s blindside, rifling an effort into the roof of the net.
Mbappé thanking Bellingham for the assist and Jude doing his celebration. 😂🤍
— TC (@totalcristiano) August 15, 2024
pic.twitter.com/E3bZWBdX2R
Ancelotti was able to stand down the big guns in the final quarter of an hour. Bellingham departed the action; Luka Modrić sat in the middle of the park with Tchouaméni, while Brahim Díaz, Arda Güler, and Dani Ceballos came on for Rodrygo, Mbappé and Vinícius. Further challenges will materialize in the next eight months, but the quartet had passed their first test— with a trophy to add to their haul.
Takeaways
It is the same story for Real Madrid. Their willpower picked apart the lock at the right moment. As individuals of the highest level, their physical prowess propelled this success: Ancelotti admitted that his players exploited the fatigue from the Italians in a game full of duels. And as a fearsome threat in transition before this summer, the arrival of Mbappé means more issues for opponents on the break. Balance will build in time between this set of stars, but sides will struggle to contain their quality.
Gasperini was bullish in his belief that Atalanta could cause problems before the kickoff. He was not wrong. The game state ran even till half time, and if the Italians exploited opportunities, the outcome might have been different. However, once the two quickfire goals flowed in and the field opened up, their engine ran out of gas, and the limitations of their approach appeared. Nevertheless, Gasperini continues to grant the city of Bergamo the right to dream. More miracles may be on the horizon.
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