Marco Asensio vindicated himself against Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday night according to Diario AS, closing the door once again at a pivotal moment for Real Madrid. He scored immediately after Luis Muriel had pulled a goal back, killing any potential remontada.
Asensio replaced Fede Valverde in the 82nd minute, with the score at 2-0. 34 seconds later, Muriel scored a superb free-kick to pull the score back to 2-1 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate. The next minute, Asensio was on hand to finish an excellent Madrid break, in two touches controlling and shooting to end the game.
He touched his hip as soon as he scored to honour his father Gilberto, who’s been beset with problems there in recent years. Asensio managed to break a bad run in front of goal where he had failed to score since the end of January.
It’s his third goal of the season and his first in the Champions League, a moment of respite in a season of ups and downs for the forward. He has Zinedine Zidane’s confidence, but has delivered mixed performances. Now, with Eden Hazard out injured, his time to take centre stage has well and truly come.
