Atalanta's eighth time against Sporting Lisbon occurs in the first leg of the round of 16. The Nerazzurri are in the midst of an iron cycle of seven matches in three weeks on the European and domestic front.
The Bergamo team, which has 609 fans following at Alvalade, almost had no time to recover from the home defeat with Thiago Motta. The iron rule is that against three-man defenses you attack with as many men, so Koopmeiners passes from the attacking midfield to the right.