As Champions League winners, Real Madrid, with Frenchman Kylian Mbappé now in their ranks ready to start a new era, will try to win their sixth continental Super Cup in their history at the National Stadium in Warsaw against Italian side Atalanta, winners of the Europa League.
The white team, which currently leads the list of titles with five together with Barcelona and Milan, thus has the opportunity to make history in the competition, something that its players Dani Carvajal and Luka Modric and coach Carlo Ancelotti also aspire to. The former would become ‘five-time champions’ as players and the second, who already won the short tournament, can be crowned as the only one with five titles as a coach.
To do so, they will have to win a match in which they are considered favourites, but they do not want to relax, knowing that they will face a very dangerous rival who surprised German side Bayer Leverkusen in the final of the 2019/20 season. Europa League, giving them their only defeat of the season.
Real Madrid face the match after a preseason that has been spent between the capital of Spain and the United States, where they achieved a victory against Chelsea and suffered two defeats against Milan and Barcelona. Kylian Mbappé, one of the main attractions for this match, was not present in either of those matches.
The French striker, who has finally arrived at the club after several years of interest from them, faces what could be his first appearance with the Madrid team. Joined somewhat later than his other teammates, having played in the European Championship with France, It remains to be seen how he adapts to his teammates’ game. In principle, he is expected to start, forming in attack alongside Brazilians Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo.
There are more doubts in the centre of the field. With Englishman Jude Bellingham a regular in the starting eleven, having moved back from his first season, it remains to be seen who his two partners will be in the midfield. Uruguayan Fede Valverde and Croatian Luka Modric on one side and Frenchmen Eduardo Camavinga and Aurélien Tchouaméni on the other are fighting for those positions.
Atalanta is in trouble
For its part, Atalanta, after having won its first European title last season, comes into the match as a ‘Cinderella’, without being the favourites, without being the centre of attention. But in this This time, unlike what happened in May against the team of the Spaniard Xabi Alonso, he does so in a complicated situation, navigating in a sea of doubts.
The injuries of the Italians Giorgio Scalvini and Gianluca Scamacca, defender and forward respectively, both with a torn lateral cruciate ligament, leaves the ‘Dea’ without two of its great figures. And the rebellion of the Dutchman Teun Koopmeiners, who refuses to training and playing until his signing for ‘Juve’ is closed, leaves the midfield without a great brain, without one of the main culprits of the success of this team.
With his already classic system of 3 central defenders, 2 wing-backs, 2 pure midfielders and 3 very mobile attackers, Gasperini has managed to find the key to unleash lethal attacks without losing order and reinforcing the defense, polishing his usual man-to-man pressure. all-round play, which has made it difficult for his opponents to get the ball out. He will now have to deal with his compatriot Carlo Ancelotti, in the duel of Italians on the benches.
Belgian midfielder Charles De Ketelaere, who already added a new player at the end of last season, will have to step forward in this regard given the complex situation in the dressing room. especially for the good work of the Bergamo team. And they will have to be at the same level as the Nigerian striker Ademola Lookman showed in the final in May, scoring all three goals in the match and bearing all the responsibility for the goal.
Alternatives for this meeting
With the rest of the squad available, including Dutchman Marten De Roon, the captain, who missed the most important match in the club’s history through injury after 7 years wearing the shirt, he is aiming to regain his place in midfield and displace Croatian Mario Pasalic to the bench. Up top, alongside Lookman and De Ketelaere, Retegui and Malian El Bilal Touré, formerly of Almería, will fight for the position.
As for the precedents between both teams, there are two to date, those corresponding to the round of 16 of the Champions League of the season. 2020-2021.
Real Madrid won both games, 0-1 in the first leg and 3-1 in the return leg. The seven head-to-head matches between the two coaches are more balanced, with three wins for Ancelotti, two for Gasperini and two draws.
— Probable lineups:
Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Rudiger, Militao, Mendy; Choameni, Fede Valverde, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr. and Mbappe.
Atalanta: Musso; Toloi, Djimsiti, Hien; Zappacosta, Ederson, De Roon, Ruggeri; De Ketelaere, Retegui or El Bilal Toure; Lookman.
Referee: Sandro Schärer (Switzerland)
Stadium: Warsaw National Stadium.
Time: 21:00 (-2 GMT). EFE