Atalanta Bergamo defeats VfB Stuttgart in the Champions League

The Europa League winner was a size too big for VfB Stuttgart. “They were ice cold in front of the goal and we weren’t. “That was a difficult and disgusting opponent,” said Chris Führich after the 0:2 (0:0) against Atalanta Bergamo. However, the national player did not see everything as negative in the second defeat in the fourth game of the Champions League season. You could “take a lot of positive things from the game,” said the winger.

Ex-Bundesliga professionals Ademola Lookman and Nicolo Zaniola ruined a big evening for VfB with their goals. Lookman scored in the 51st minute in front of 60,000 spectators. It was the striker’s eighth competitive goal of the season. Last season he scored all three goals in the Italians’ 3-0 win against Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final. Substitute Zaniolo put the lid on the game against VfB in the atmospheric arena (88th). “I can’t really blame the team. That hurts, but you have these experiences at this level,” said coach Sebastian Hoeneß.

“We defended everything for a long time, but failed to take advantage of our chances,” said Mittelstädt. This means that Stuttgart has fallen back to 27th place in the 36-team table. At least 24th place is necessary to qualify for the playoffs to reach the round of 16. Points have to be earned against other teams. “Bergamo is one of the strongest teams in Europe,” said Mittelstädt. The late 1-0 win at Juventus Turin two weeks ago gave the Stuttgart team a boost for their further international tasks. But they have to wait for their first home win in the premier class in almost 15 years. Bergamo remained unbeaten for the fourth time and without conceding a goal for the fourth time on matchday four of the league phase.

Flick marches on, PSG loses again

Coach Hansi Flick, on the other hand, continued his successful run with FC Barcelona. In the Champions League, the Catalans defeated Red Star Belgrade 5-2 (2-1) after the next goal gala and celebrated their seventh win in a row across all competitions. Meanwhile, Inter Milan beat Arsenal, Atletico Madrid celebrated a very lucky last-minute win at Paris Saint-Germain. Robert Lewandowski (43rd, 53rd) scored twice for the superior FCB, who celebrated their third success in the fourth premier class game. Inigo Martinez (13th), Raphinha (55th), who had already scored three times in the 4-1 win over Bayern Munich, and Fermin Lopez (76th) scored the other goals. Ex-Bundesliga player Silas (27th) and Felicio Milson (84th) were successful for Belgrade.

“We can always improve, but I’m really happy,” said Flick at Movistar: “They played well, were good with the ball, but we put them under pressure. It’s good to see that.”

In the Milan stadium, Inter inflicted their first defeat of the season on Arsenal FC with a 1-0 (1-0) draw. Shortly before the break, Hakan Calhanoglu took advantage of a justified hand penalty to take the lead (45th + 3). Because the Gunners around national player Kai Havertz lacked the final punch in the second half and Inter successfully touched concrete, it was a narrow victory that put the Italians in the top group.

Havertz has to leave the pitch with a laceration

After a collision with German central defender Yann Aurel Bisseck, Havertz suffered a bleeding wound to his head. It was initially unclear whether his appearance for the national team in the last two games of the Nations League preliminary round against Bosnia-Herzegovina (November 16th) and Hungary (November 19th) was in danger.

In the duel between the top teams from Paris and Madrid, which started disappointingly, PSG was clearly the better team for long stretches – but Atletico still grabbed a lucky 2-1 (1-1) victory. Warren Zaire-Emery (14th) gave the French champions an early lead, but Nahuel Molina (18th) immediately countered this. Afterwards, Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak surpassed himself and prevented further goals. In the third minute of injury time, Angel Correa used one of the very few counterattacks by the defeated Spaniards to score the winning goal. Surprise team Stade Brest were also able to celebrate again. After the 2:1 (1:0) over Sparta Prague, the French already have ten out of twelve possible points.