As expected, the match of the first round of 16, which offered the most goals, was the one between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen in Bergamo. Fans of the stadium saw a real goal spectacle, from which their favorites emerged victorious. The guests from Germany scored the first and last goal in the match for the final 3: 2 in favor of the Italian club. The success was deserved, as Atalanta was the more active team on the field, and the players showed fair play with a clean game and only three yellow cards.

This past weekend, both teams disappointed in their matches from the home championships. Atalanta continued with poor results as host in Serie A and finished 0-0 with the penultimate Genoa. Thus, the "Black and Blues" remain sixth, and the Top 4 already seems clear. Bayer Leverkusen has not signed for the first time since December 9. The Aspirins suffered a surprising 0-1 defeat as hosts of Cologne.

Sunday's loss to Bayer ended an excellent run of seven wins in nine consecutive games in all unbeaten tournaments. In the autumn, all opponents from Group G - Ferencvaros, Celtic and Betis - were outplayed at BayArena. With just one victory in the last five away games in Serie A, Atalanta is no longer the best guest in the division. In their group of the Champions League, the team never won on foreign soil. The seven goals scored were enough for a point from Villarreal and Young Boys and a defeat at Old Trafford.

Not infrequently, when the first match offers many goals, the second is followed by a zero draw or just a goal. This was the case, for example, in the clash between Betis and Zenit in the 1/16 final phase, but today I think that the teams will not disappoint us. Twelve goals were scored by BayArena in the three Europa League matches in the autumn, and Atalanta's three European visits were marked by fifteen goals. Nothing has been lost for Bayer Leverkusen, but hesitant defenses are a major problem for the Aspirins this season.