UCL | Young Boys 1-6 Atalanta: De Ketelaere masterclass
BERN, SWITZERLAND - NOVEMBER 26: Charles De Ketelaere of Atalanta passes the ball whilst under pressure from Jaouen Hadjam of BSC Young Boys during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD5 match between BSC Young Boys and Atalanta BC at Stadion Wankdorf on November 26, 2024 in Bern, Switzerland. (Photo by Daniela Porcelli/Getty Images)
Atalanta swept Young Boys aside 6-1 in Bern with Charles De Ketelaere contributing two goals and three assists, along with a Mateo Retegui brace, Sead Kolasinac and Lazar Samardzic.
Ederson was suspended with Davide Zappacosta, Giorgio Scalvini and Gianluca Scamacca absent. Young Boys had zero points after four games, but were only beaten here by a last-gasp Marcus Thuram goal when Inter visited on October 23. Tanguy Zoukrou, Loris Benito, Miguel Chaiwa, Saidy Janko, Facinet Conte, Patric Pfeiffer and Abdu Conte were on the treatment table, but Ebrima Colley started against his parent club.
See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.
Juan Cuadrado hit the side-netting after a step-over and Atalanta took the lead moments later, as Retegui sprung the offside trap on the inspired Charles De Ketelaere through ball, blasting into the top corner one-on-one with the goalkeeper. It was the Italy international’s first Champions League goal.
It did not last long, as within 120 seconds Young Boys had equalised with Silvere Ganvoula getting ahead of Isak Hien to nod in the Filip Ugrinic corner, the sheer power from point-blank range bending back Marco Carnesecchi’s glove. This was the first goal conceded by Atalanta in the competition this season.
Mario Pasalic’s back-heel flick was onto the side-netting from a Cuadrado corner routine, but La Dea did restore their advantage from a set play.
Matteo Ruggeri’s corner was taken low and hard for Odilon Kossounou’s back-heel flick and De Ketelaere managed to get the shot away while falling over, seeing it squirm under David von Ballmoos.
De Ketelaere was truly inspired in Switzerland, as a few minutes later he sent Sead Kolasinac clear through the centre with another simply fantastic first-time pass and the defender swept it past Von Ballmoos one-on-one.
He nearly did it a fourth time moments after that, but this time Retegui was blocked off by some desperate defending.
De Ketelaere provided his third assist of the night with a cross from the left, which Retegui gathered with his back to goal, turning quickly to smash into the net from 10 yards.
The Belgium international was having a remarkable evening and added his second goal after the restart, as he dribbled past two players and saw the finish take a deflection off Mohamed Ali Camara to wrong-foot the goalkeeper.
Kolasinac had the ball in the net again, but was offside on the rebound from Cuadrado’s parried strike. Lazar Samardzic also surged forward to see his scorcher fingertipped over the bar by Von Ballmoos.
There was still time for Lazar Samardzic to enjoy Atalanta glory too, cutting inside from the right, nutmegging a defender and sliding in the delicate finish.
Retegui 9, 39 (A), Ganvoula 11 (Y), De Ketelaere 28, 56 (A), Kolasinac 32 (A), Samardzic 91 (A)
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