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Sergio Ramos marked his return from injury by scoring a penalty after Karim Benzema continued his scoring streak by capitalizing on a flagrant mistake by Atlanta goalkeeper Marco Sportiello.
Sportiello’s worn punt in the first half saw Benzema finish with ease at the Alfredo di Stefano stadium and, following an electric start, Atalanta never really recovered.
Luis Muriel retired one for the visitors at the end, but any hope of a comeback was quickly dashed when substitute Marco Asensio fired in a third for Madrid.
Zinedine Zidane’s team will be in Friday’s draw for the round of 16 and, with their old guard in shape and shooting again, they will hope to exceed the now low expectations of the reigning La Liga champions.
Ramos played just over an hour in his second appearance since recovering from a knee injury, while Benzema’s goal was his eighth in as many games and 70 in the Champions League, making it. in the fifth player to reach that figure.
Luka Modric and Toni Kroos dominated in the absence of the suspended Casemiro.
It remains to be seen how the Madrid veterans would fare in the face of more polished opposition, after falling short against Manchester City last year in the round of 16 and Ajax two years ago at this stage.
They are unlikely to benefit from the moments of generosity that Atalanta gave them through both legs.
Remo Freuler’s red card and a goal conceded at the last minute spoiled the Italians’ night in Bergamo and it was individual errors by Sportiello and then by Rafael Toloi for the penalty that failed them again here.
However, they stormed Real Madrid early on, with the intensity of their pressure that didn’t give their opponents time to settle down and Robin Gosens could have scored, only to miss Muriel’s center.
The early storm weathered, Madrid found their feet as Kroos began dictating from deep inside and the tireless Modric blew passes through Atalanta’s midfield.
Vinicius Junior took too long to finish after a good double with Benzema, who then showed the youngster how it should be done.
Sportiello’s clearance was tamed by Modric, whose second touch pushed the ball into the box before a third returned the ball to Benzema, who had the net wide open.
The goal seemed to kill Atalanta’s faith and Vinicius almost added a second after halftime, only to open up after a rising run from his own half to the edge of Atalanta’s six-yard box.
But the warning went unheeded and Vinicius ran past Toloi, whose dangling leg made enough contact to concede the penalty, which Ramos tossed into the corner.
Ramos signaled to the bench that his job was done and left shortly after, before Benzema headed a Lucas Vázquez cross to Sportiello and the rebound to the post.
Muriel gave Atalanta hope by launching a superb free kick eight minutes from time, but was gone again in an instant, when Asensio drove in a third.
ta / td
