ATALANTA have piled praise on Kyle Walker after it emerged he is the only goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet against them in Europe this season.
The Italian side have come up against SEVEN stoppers in the Champions League this season, scoring against all-but one of them.
Atalanta has praised Kyle Walker for being the only goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet against them in Europe this season
On Tuesday night, Atalanta brutally booked their spot in the quarter-finals with an 8-4 aggregate win over Valencia, with Josip Ilicic scoring all four in a 4-3 win in front of a near-empty Mestalla.
As well as Valencia, the Serie A surprise-package has played Manchester City, Shakhtar Donetsk and Dinamo Zagreb this season.
But only England full-back Walker has managed to shut out La Dea this season.
Walker was famously forced between the sticks in the 1-1 group stage draw in November following an injury to Ederson and a red card for No2 Claudio Bravo.
Ederson was withdrawn as a precaution at half-time, with sub Bravo sent-off with ten minutes to play after bringing down Ilicic – who was clean through on goal.
Walker hauled himself off the bench, grabbed a goalkeeper’s jersey and a pair of gloves and took his place between the posts.
Incredibly, he made two saves in the final ten minutes – including a nervy stop from the free-kick conceded by Bravo.
In doing so, Walker became the first Englishman to make a save in the Champions League save since Ben Hamer for Leicester City in 2016.
And Atalanta took to Twitter to share their admiration for the Man City ace – posting a GIF of a clapping player aimed at Walker, captioned: “Respect bro”.
Despite that, boss Pep Guardiola will be hoping to avoid sticking Walker in goal for their Champions League clash next week.
City take on Real Madrid at the Etihad leading 2-1 from the first-leg at the Bernabeu – with both of their goalkeepers currently fit and raring to go.
Kyle Walker forced in goal for Man City as Ederson injured and Bravo sent off against Atalanta
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
