On February 24, Real Madrid defeated Atalanta 0-1 in the first leg of the 2020/2021 Champions League round of 16, thanks to a goal from Ferland Mendy in the 86th minute. Now the meringues will start looking for benefit. from the first match and hope to secure a place as a local in the next round of the Champions League.
However, despite the fact that the score is in favor, the white team knows it will not be an easy game, as next Tuesday they will receive the team of Gian Piero Gasperini, whose reference in the attack is Luis Fernando Muriel, a Colombian. attacker’s turn. a scoring streak and he hopes to be the hero of the round of 16.
Precisely in the run-up to this vibrant second stage, the spotlights point to two main players: Karim Benzema and Luis Fernando Muriel. Both the French and the Colombian are going through a great moment, for which their goals will be the weapon of each of the teams to seek classification. Here are their numbers.
Luis Fernando Muriel
Although Luis Fernando Muriel did not have many clear goals in the first leg, Atalanta can dream of a historic result in a crucial game back thanks to the sporting present of the Atlantic Ocean.
At the age of 29, the coffee striker is three goals away from his best-scoring season in Serie A (2019/2020: 19 goals in 41 PJ). Muriel currently records 16 goals and seven assists in this competition, in addition to two goals in the Champions League and one in the Italian Cup (19 goals and 9 assists in total).
With an average of one goal per 80 minutes (all competitions), former Deportivo Cali meets an exceptional season in Europe and is the key figure in the attack of ‘La Diosa’. However, Gasperini also has Duván Zapata, who scores 13 goals and 12 assists (all competitions) and is the ideal addition for Muriel on his way to comeback.
Season numbers 2020-2021
A competition: 25 games played, 16 goals and 7 assists. Played 967 minutes.
Champions League: Played 6 games, 2 goals. Played 268 minutes.
Italy Cup: 4 games played, 1 goal and 2 assists. Played 281 minutes.
Total: 35 games played, 19 goals and 9 assists. Played 1,516 minutes.
Karim Benzema
With 20 goals so far this season, Karim Benzema is, in addition to being a leader in the dressing room, the star in the development and operation of the team led by Zinedine Zidane.
The Frenchman was not in the first leg due to an injury, but after recovering satisfactorily, the forward, who is one of the team’s captains, returned with goals and in the Whites’ final game for the Spanish League he had the leadership to give. victory for his team with two touchdowns.
Season numbers 2020-2021
The competition: 23 games played: 15 goals and 5 assists. Played 2,034 minutes.
Champions League: 5 games played: 5 goals. Played 391 minutes.
Super Cup: 1 game played: 1 goal. Played 88 minutes.
Copa del Rey: Played 1 game. 43 minutes.
Total: 30 games played, 20 goals and five assists. Played 2,556 games.