Real Madrid won 3-2 away to Atalanta in the 6th round of the UEFA Champions League qualifying round. The better thing about all three points in this win was that the attack stars all scored. Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham scored in turn.
"Real Madrid played a complete and effective match in front of goal. I think the key to success is the mobility the whole team has in the upper ranks with Vinicius, Bellingham and Mbappe.
Real Madrid had many opportunities and also had to go through a storm in the final minutes. Anyway, it was a good match and we deserved to win. The quality of the players played a decisive role in this result" - Carlo Ancelotti and Jude Bellingham shared.
This match marked the return of the most complete version of Vinicius after he temporarily left the pitch due to a hamstring injury he suffered before the match against Liverpool at Anfield. When warming up, the 24-year-old Brazilian star was slower than his teammates. Caution is still there but it is very necessary for Vinicius in this new period of return.
When entering the stadium, Vinicius and Mbappe were shouted and whistled a lot by Atalanta fans. However, it has been a long time since Madridistas felt Mbappe so comfortable. Despite the pressure from the stands, the French star played very comfortably, attacking in a rhythmic defense and seemingly unaffected.
In the first half, Mbappe created 3 big chances, one of which in the 10th minute became the opening goal. That was the former PSG star's 50th goal in the UEFA Champions League after 79 matches, helping him equal his scoring record with his senior Thierry Henry in Europe's most prestigious tournament. It was a pity that Mbappe had to leave the pitch with a minor injury afterwards.
When Mbappe left the field, the leader of the attack was Vinicius. Almost immediately given the first good chance, the Brazilian striker scored a goal to double the gap for the away team in the 56th minute. Just 3 minutes later, also from Vinicius' pass, Bellingham opened up the opportunity to increase the score to 3-1.
This was a very good match for Jude Bellingham when he had 1 goal, 2 important passes, completed 5/7 dribbles past the ball, won 9 duels and made 64 touches. In almost every hot spot on the pitch, the England star was present.
Leaving aside doubts at the beginning of the season about the decline in performance compared to last season, in the last 6 matches Real Madrid have scored, Bellingham has put his name on the scoreboard. He is currently Real Madrid's third best blocker after Mbappe (13 goals) and Vinicius (12).
In some other teams, the fierce competition between 3 stars in attack like Real Madrid may lead to conflicts. However, with what Los Blancos have, everything is perfect and smooth, all is fair and civilized competition. That is a very good signal for coach Ancelotti to limit unnecessary troubles.
The fact that Mbappe, Vinicius and Bellingham all scored shows the commitment to an attack that could have a place for all three stars. This was a problem that Ancelotti could not solve 2 months ago. When asked if the win over Atalanta was a breakthrough in the arrangement of the strikers, the Italian coach avoided answering directly and only said that it was a very good premise to speed up in the upcoming Christmas period.
