Atalanta vs PSG 13/08/20

13 August 2020

Atalanta and Paris Saint-Germain go head-to-head at the Estádio da Luz in the revamped UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, as the two sides battle it out for their first UEFA semi-finals’ appearance in the 21st century.

Atalanta’s memorable maiden Champions League campaign has seen them reach the competition’s knockout stages as Group C runners-up, with both of their group-phase wins coming on Matchday 5 and 6, respectively (W2, D1, L3). ‘La Dea’ moved on to humiliate Valencia in the round of 16, 8-4 on aggregate (4-1 H, 4-3 A), which means all four of their European triumphs this season saw Gian Piero Gasperini’s men net over 1.5 goals. A potential problem for Atalanta, though, could be their fragile defense that has shipped an average of 2 goals per Champions League encounter this season. The Bergamo-based outfit have only met French opponents twice so far (W1, D1), but can draw inspiration from the fact they’ve won 60% (9) of their 15 UEFA ties.

Meanwhile, reigning Ligue 1 champions, who’s broken into the quarter-finals for the fifth time in eight seasons, will be looking to improve an utterly disappointing overall record against Italian opponents (W2, D9, L9). Yet, the ‘Parisians’ have not only picked up just one triumph in their last 15 clashes versus such rivals (D7, L7), but they’ve failed to progress from UEFA quarter-finals in all five of their previous attempts. In fact, PSG have bowed out of the Champions League quarter-finals in four of their five appearances. But, Thomas Tuchel’s men have executed an impressive European campaign this term, winning all but two of their eight Champions League fixtures, from the group stage to the quarter-finals (W6, D1, L1). Notably, all six of those victories were ‘to nil,’ with four seeing PSG score over 1.5 goals.