It was a night of heavy breathing in Bergamo for Real Madrid fans for both the right and wrong reasons. The Spanish side made the journey to Italy knowing that picking up 3 points was the only outcome that would keep them going in the new format of the old competition they have dominated for so long.

Alas, as Real Madrid do, they turned up and scored more goals than their opponents in the high-stakes clash, but not without a fright or two. Mateo Retegui will have nightmares about his miss from 3 yards; Carlo Ancelotti will wake up in cold sweats about the fitness of his players; Madridista fans would simply forgo Christmas this year, teleport to February using Einsteinian mathematics and get to February, when Los Blancos inevitably turn on the style.

Ancelotti says Mbappé injury “doesn’t look serious”

As for Ancelotti’s cold sweats, he will be worried about the fitness of a certain Kylian Mbappé, who went down in the second half and was taken off with a suspected thigh injury. The French forward has, it’s safe to say, had a tough time in the Spanish capital since his arrival, so much so that it prompted him to conduct an interview with French television in which he urged children the world over “not to dream of becoming me”.

The injury was explained by Carlo Ancelotti post-game who, among other things, mentioned his side played “a complete game”, one in which “we suffered and fought”.

“It doesn’t look serious”, was all Ancelotti initially gave away on Kylian’s fitness, but it was enough for one final large intake of breath for the night from the Madridista community, who all needed a good lie down.

He has an overload, a little discomfort in his hamstring. We will have to see him in the next few days. It doesn’t seem serious, but he had to stop, because he couldn’t sprint... it was bothering him a little bit. So we preferred to change him", Ancelotti elaborated in the mixed zone on his way to the team bus.

The latest news is that the player will undergo tests on Thursday to determine the extent of the injury, which clearly shows Madrid are in no urgent rush to get the French forward rolling into a dramatic recovery plan after such a tough game.

“The match was demanding”, Ancelotti admitted, “because Atalanta demand a lot. It was a match of individual battles and movement. It went well.

“We are very happy because it was an important victory, because it allows us to get to Christmas and still be alive in the tournament. If we do that, things will go well in the second half [of the season]. Now we are starting to recover players.”