Atalanta News and Analysis

Dortmund get decisive injury news before facing Bayern Munich and Atalanta

24Feb

By Joe SorianoNo Comments

Injury News

Dortmund get decisive injury news before facing Bayern Munich and Atalanta

Borussia Dortmund hold a vital but still tenuous 2-0 lead over Atalanta in the first round of the Champions League playoffs, and they will like their chances even more with The Athletic's Bundesliga correspondent Seb Stafford-Bloor reporting that star center back Nico Schlotterbeck was able to train and has been named to the club's squad for the game. BVB were able to pitch a shutout against La Dea without Schlotty available, but the presence of one of the best center backs in the Bundesliga was sorely missed over the weekend in a hard-fought, 2-2 draw with RB Leipzig, whose wingers Brajan Gruda and Yan Diomande torched them while Christoph Baumgartner put Serhou Guirassy to shame with two beautiful poached goals. It's been a tough stretch of games for Dortmund, who, after facing La ...

Ranking the 25 best Serie A players of the 2025/26 season so far

Briefly, Serie A was bucking the trend of being a league known for its top-notch defensive quality by having high-scoring games and open play, but that period has ended almost as quickly as it began. Although there are a few attacking standouts in Serie A these days like Lautaro Martinez and Nico Paz, the best players in the league right now are defenders. The Italian top flight, pound for pound, has the best central defenders and goalkeepers, and these players make up the majority of the list of the best footballers in the league in the 2025/26 season. Here are the top 25 players of the current campaign thus far, and while Inter Milan predictably dominate the rankings, the rest of the spread is pretty even among the other European contenders in Calcio. 25. Cremonese GK Emil Auder...

Ranking the 15 best goalkeepers in world football in 2026

You would think the goalkeeper position would be the easiest to evaluate on the football pitch, because, well, goalkeepers are more stationary than other players and can be largely evaluated on how successful they are at stopping the other team from scoring. But it isn't really that simple. Although goalkeepers are primarily asked to make saves, ask any Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur fan how much having a goalkeeper who does not command the box well or makes basic errors in possession can totally destroy your team's sense of stability. There is also the matter of reputation. Many goalkeepers can skate by on a reputation built up over the years of greatness, whereas some younger goalkeepers find it more difficult to gain a foothold for this reason. Finally, there is the mat...