MILAN (AP) – Hans Hateboer scored twice as Atalanta beat Valencia 4-1 Wednesday in the first leg of the Champions League's round of 16, putting the Italian team on the verge of a quarterfinal spot in its first season in the competition.
Roughly a third of the population of the small town of Bergamo was present at Milan's San Siro stadium to see Hateboer, Josip Ilicic and Remo Freuler score for Atalanta.
Substitute Denis Cheryshev scored a consolation goal for Valencia to give the Spanish team a glimmer of hope ahead of the second leg on March 10.