Wasteful Atalanta have lost nine points from a leading position in the Champions League this season and must beat Villarreal to qualify for the knockout stages.
Manchester United are through to the last 16 after a 2-0 win at Villarreal on Tuesday, but Atalanta didn’t manage to finish the job on the synthetic fields in Bern.
Young Boys held the Orobici to a 3-3 draw in the fifth round of Group F and Atalanta are still one point behind Villarreal in the battle for second.
If Atalanta lose against the Spanish side in Bergamo, they could also lose out on a place in the Europa League, should Young Boys secure a double over Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Atalanta have drawn three of their five games so far and their only win came at home against Young Boys.
But La Dea have wasted great opportunities of securing early advancement to the next phase, as they were in the lead at half-time in the first leg against Manchester United and were up 1-0 and 2-1 in the second.
9 – Atalanta have lost nine points from a leading situation in Champions League this season, more than any other side in the competition so far. Waste.#UCL #YoungBoysAtalanta pic.twitter.com/yyRBcoabt6
— OptaPaolo 🏆 (@OptaPaolo) November 23, 2021
The same happened yesterday, as Atalanta scored first through Duvan Zapata and then regained the lead through Jose Luis Palomino in the second half.
But Young Boys turned the game around and Luis Muriel had to save a point in the final minutes of the match.
Opta reports Atalanta have wasted more leading positions than any other teams in the Champions League so far, by losing nine points from a leading position in the competition.
Atalanta were in the lead against Villarreal in the first match too, when Remo Freuler scored after only six minutes, but the Europa League champions turned the match around with one goal on either side of the interval, before Robin Goosens saved a point after 83 minutes.
The wasteful Nerazzurri now need a win to secure a place in the next round of the Champions League, as they sit one point behind the Yellow Submarine.
But the two sides clash in a thrilling final round of fixtures on December 8, when Atalanta fight for their third consecutive run to the knockout stages of the European competition.
Who………. Cares…………….
Yogi you go and support clubs like PSG and Chelsea which are owned by oligarchs and rich emirs. Don’t waste your time on actual football clubs