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Real Madrid will take a slender 1-0 advantage into the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie following victory over 10-man Atalanta in Bergamo on Wednesday evening.

The complexion of the game was dramatically altered just 17 minutes in when Remo Freuler was sent off for bringing down Ferland Mendy on the edge of the Atalanta box, as the Real man burst towards goal.

Despite playing over 70 minutes with ten men, the Italian side turned in a resolute defensive performance and largely restricted the Spanish champions to half-chances. However, La Dea’s resistance was finally broken four minutes from time, with Mendy again the protagonist as he curled a fabulous effort from the edge of the box into the corner of the net.

Let’s get into some player ratings…

Pierluigi Gollini (GK) – 6/10 – Made a big reaction save on the stroke of half-time to deny Varane.

Rafael Toloi (CB) – 8/10 – Made an important block to send a goal-bound Isco effort wide in the first half. Still charged forward adventurously on occasions despite Atalanta’s one-man deficit.

Cristian Romero (CB) – 7/10 – Question marks over the entire Atalanta back three for Freuler’s sending off, with Mendy and Isco both afforded acres of space to play through them with ease. Otherwise an unreal defensive shift from the hosts.

Berat Djimsiti (CB) – 7/10 – Threw himself in front of anything as Atalanta put in a huge defensive performance to keep the tie alive.

Joakim Maehle (RWB) – 7/10 – Turned in a resolute defensive performance as Real endured a frustrating evening.

Marten de Roon (CM) – 6/10 – A big defensive shift, but struggled to get on the ball following the sending off.

Remo Freuler (CM) – 3/10 – Sent off after 17 minutes when, as the last man, he brought down Mendy on the edge of the box – slightly harsh on Freuler.

Matteo Pessina (AM) – 5/10 – Dropped into a deeper central midfield role following Freuler’s sending off. Tireless and dogged but struggled to create anything.

Robin Gosens (LWB) – 7/10 – Restricted in his ability to get forward but put in a big defensive shift as Real struggled to break Atalanta down.

Luis Muriel (FW) – 5/10 – Dragged Atalanta’s most promising first-half opening wide from the edge of the box. Largely forced to lead the line on his own, replaced after 55 minutes.

Duvan Zapata (FW) – 5/10 – Forced off with injury after half an hour having not had a sniff of goal.

Mario Pasalic – 6/10

Josip Ilicic – 5/10

Jose Luis Palomino – 5/10

Ruslan Malinovskyi – 5/10

Thibaut Courtois (GK) – 6/10 – Largely a spectator as Atalanta rarely threatened the Real goal.

Lucas Vazquez (RB) – 6/10 – Got forward at any given opportunity. Rarely tested defensively, such was Real’s dominance in possession.

Raphael Varane (CB) – 6/10 – Saw a headed opportunity well saved on the stroke of half-time. Largely untroubled defensively.

Nacho (CB) – 7/10 – Had an adventurous charge through the Atalanta back line in the first half and saw his effort flash across the face of goal, and made an important interception to prevent Muriel being played clean through on goal.

Ferland Mendy (LB) – 8/10 – Fouled on the edge of the box as he attempted to burst through, resulting in Atalanta being reduced to ten men. Bent home a fabulous strike from the edge of the area to finally open the scoring.

Casemiro (CM) – 6/10 – Passed and passed all evening as Real dominated possession. Perhaps fortunate to not be shown a second yellow for a dive in the second half.

Luka Modric (CM) – 7/10 – Saw one effort fly over in the first half, and another trickle just wide in the second.

Toni Kroos (CM) – 6/10 – Almost unlocked the Atalanta back line with a dangerous free-kick delivery on the stroke of half-time. Effortlessly sprayed the ball about all evening, but struggled to unpick the Atalanta defence.

Isco (AM) – 6/10 – Saw a first-half effort deflect wide, before slipping Vinicius Junior through with a delightful nut-megged pass.

Marco Asensio (FW) – 6/10 – Produced a teasing cross begging to be turned home in the latter stages of the first half. Otherwise largely frustrated by the Atalanta back line.

Vinicius Junior (FW) – 6/10 – Instrumental in Freuler’s sending off, finding Mendy with a probing through-ball. Replaced just before the hour mark.

Mariano – 6/10

Sergio Arribas – 6/10

Hugo Duro – 6/10

How do you break down a team that shapes up in a 6-3-1 formation out of possession?

It’s a question Chelsea were forced to try and find an answer to when they travelled to Bucharest to take on Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night.

Even by Diego Simeone’s obsessively high standards of defensive solidity, his team were in a particularly stingy mood in Romania. That opening gambit is not a misprint. Each time Atletico lost the ball, a flurry of Rojiblancos shirt retreated to their own 18-yard line.

Centre backs Mario Hermosa, Stefan Savic and Felipe, wing backs Thomas Lemar and Marcos Llorente, and right forward Angel Correa would respond to El Cholo’s raspy screams, teaming up to create one of the most imposing low blocks in world football.

Collectively, the system would pose problems to any set of attackers. However, the remarkable talent of each of its composite parts – even with the absences of Kieran Trippier and Jose Gimenez – made Chelsea’s task even harder. Each member of this seemingly impregnable defensive wall has contributed significantly to an Atleti team that has conceded just 16 goals in La Liga this season and shipped just eight in a Champions League group containing the irrepressible Bayern Munich.

Despite all of this, the Blues still managed to escape from the contest with a win and, perhaps more importantly, a crucial away goal. They had Olivier Giroud to thank for this, a player who has seemingly been on the cusp of being shipped out of Stamford Bridge for the past two years.

The once unwanted Frenchman netted one of Chelsea’s great European goals. Latching onto Marcos Alonso’s diverted cross, he produced an overhead kick that was almost as beautiful as his chiseled jawline.

Looking at things more widely, Thomas Tuchel can take plenty of positives from his side’s performance as a whole.

Before Giroud’s freakishly brilliant strike settled the game in the second half, there were plenty of signs that Chelsea were slowly piecing together the right combinations to break down their joy-sapping opponents.

Many sides have registered monstrous amounts of possession when facing Atletico in a European knockout tie, but Chelsea were part of a select few that actually managed to threaten their opponents.

Key to this were the displays of supporting forwards Timo Werner and Mason Mount. Their approaches to breaking down the home side’s defence varied, but both were effective at points. Werner opted for lightning quick exchanges on the edge of the box with Giroud. This tactic paid off on several occasions as well, with the German looking the sharpest player on the pitch by some distance.

Mount, meanwhile, drifted around in the half spaces, looking to switch the play quickly with a deep cross or set free his teammates with an incisive pass. These pair of young upstarts were supported by Chelsea’s wing backs whose runs helped to force overloads in wide areas. Jorginho’s long, crossfield passes were important as well.

This contest was billed as a litmus test for Tuchel’s new look side and the results were extremely positive. Breaking down Atletico is one of the toughest tasks any European side can be posed but the Blues rose to the challenge, showcasing invention in the final third to establish themselves as favourites to progress when the pair meet for the second leg on 17 March.