Ferland Mendy fires late winner as Real beat Atalanta

MADRID: Ferland Mendy grabbed a late winner to earn lacklustre Real Madrid a 1-0 win over 10-man Atalanta in Wednesday's Champions League last-16 first leg.

Real's task appeared to have been made much easier after Atalanta's Remo Freuler was sent off in the 17th minute for denying Mendy a goal-scoring opportunity.

Against the 10 men, however, ZinedineZidane's side, who were missing several high-profile players through injury, struggled to break down the hosts, and Real had only one shot on target in the rest of the first half.

Atalanta continued to defend doggedly after the interval, but Mendy's superb strike in the 86th minute gave the record 13-times European champions a slender lead to take into the second leg.

GianPieroGasperini'sAtalanta shocked everyone by getting to the quarter-finals last year in their first season in Europe's premier competition, especially given they played all their home games at the San Siro in Milan while their own stadium was being re-developed.

Now back at their ground, Atalanta's first Champions League knockout match in Bergamo got off to a bad start when the referee showed no hesitation in sending Freuler off for bringing down Mendy when he was through on goal.

Without their top goalscorerKarimBenzema and forwards Eden Hazard and Rodrygo through injury, however, Real lacked potency up front.

Half chances for Luka Modric and Vinicius Jr. were all they could come up with as the game entered the latter stages.

It was going to take something special to breach the well-organised home side and full back Mendy provided it with a 25-metre strike, his first Champions League goal.

Bernardo Silva scored once and set up another as Manchester City eased to a 2-0 victory over BorussiaMoenchengladbach in their Champions League last-16 first leg on Wednesday, extending their winning run to 19 games in all competitions.

City, who are unbeaten in their last 26 matches, have a huge advantage for the March 16 return leg in Manchester after Silva headed in a pinpoint Joao Cancelo cross in the 29th minute to put them in front.

The Portuguese midfielder then headed on another cross from man of the match Cancelo in the 65th minute for Gabriel Jesus to stab in.

Striker Sergio Aguero came on as a substitute after a lengthy absence from Pep Guardiola'steam, who have won their last 12 away games in all competitions, setting a new record for an English top-flight side.

The first leg was played in the Hungarian capital due to COVID-19 travel restrictions in Germany and City quickly took control of the game, circulating the ball well and looking for openings in the Gladbachdefence.

Phil Foden tested keeper YannSommer with a crisp shot in the sixth minute but City did not have a clear scoring chance despite controlling possession until Silva's header.

Jesus should have done much better when he benefited from a Gladbach pass back early in the first half but with only Sommer to beat he hesitated and lost possession.

The Brazilian made amends minutes later, tapping in a Silva header from yet another superb Cancelo cross.

Gladbach, who only had one attempt on target in the entire game, had their best chance through Alassane Plea's spectacular backflick-volley just past the hour but were otherwise boxed in their own half.

The Germans have now lost three of their last four games in all competitions and while City are on the cusp of a fourth straight quarter-final spot, the Germans have a mountain to climb in the return leg. Agencies

Also Read: Zinedine Zidane leaves out Benzema for CL tie against Atalanta

Also Watch: Assam News Wrap