Club Brugge upset Atalanta after a dominant performance in the first leg of their Champions League play-off tie.
Club Brugge started the game strongly and Ferran Jutglà gave the hosts the lead after 15 minutes, before Mario Pašalić equalised just before halftime.
The Belgian champions returned to their positive style in the second half and were deserving of a less controversial winner.
After Isak Hien held off Gustaf Nilsson, the Brugge striker collapsed holding his face, which convinced the referee to point to the spot. Atalanta players were stunned by the decision, and bewildered when VAR didn’t overturn it. Nilsson converted the penalty he’d won, and Brugge secured their 2-1 advantage.
As It Happened
Club Brugge started the stronger side, playing through Atalanta with ease. They failed to convert a few half-chances, but found their breakthrough in the fifteenth minute.
Chemsdine Talbi intercepted Hien’s pass, causing panic in the Atalanta defence. The young winger looked across the box to see three of his teammates unmarked. He found Jutglá, who took a touch and then fired past Rui Patrício to make it 1-0.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Belgian champions played a safer game after scoring. They weren’t afraid to go back to goalkeeper Simon Mignolet and bait Atalanta’s press, in order to play forward again. This safer style was working, but they ended up inviting too much pressure, leading to defensive mistakes.
Mateo Retegui, who scored four at the weekend, missed a half-chance from one of these defensive errors. Then a minute later, Atalanta punished another mistake to equalise. Davide Zappacosta, arguably the visitors’ best player in a bad first half, found Pašalić. The Croatian’s header was too good for Mignolet, and Atalanta were going into half-time level.
Club Brugge returned to a more positive style of play in the second half. If there had been better decision making in and around the box, they could have retaken the lead. However, the Jan Breydel Stadium’s decibel level picked up in response to their sides positivity.
It took until the 65th minute for Atalanta to have a chance in the second half. Zappacosta’s header at the backpost forced a good save from Mignolet. Substitute Lazar Samardžić should have given the Italians the lead soon after. He received the ball with space inside the box and aimed for the far corner, but hit it narrowly wide.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe game slowed down in the final 15 minutes. Tweaks from Gian Piero Gasperini made it harder for Club Brugge to play out from defence. Players were tiring. Fears of a mistake leading to a winning goal were evident.
It was a tie so focused on former Brugge boy Charles De Ketelaere, but he had a quiet game until the 82nd minute when a chance opened up to punish his former side. He received the ball on the edge of the box, opened up onto his stronger left foot, but couldn’t quite put the ball in the corner, still forcing a good save out of Mignolet.
The game felt like it was over, and the teams were going to settle for a 1-1 draw. But when Hien fended off Nilsson, who dramatically fell to the floor holding his face, the referee blew and awarded a penalty. It looked potentially soft, but VAR didn’t overturn the decision. The man who won the penalty took it, sending Patrício the wrong way to win it for Club Brugge.
Embed from Getty ImagesGasperini left the bench before the final whistle, outraged at the decision. Hien and his teammates were left visibly frustrated, even as the game continued. Referee Halil Umut Meler was crowded by Atalanta players and staff after blowing the final whistle. Next week’s second leg looks set to be one of much higher tensions now.
The lineups
CLU: Mignolet; Seys, Ordóñez, Mechele, De Cuyper; Jashari, Onyedika; Talbi, Vanaken, Tzolis; Jutglà
ATA: Patrício; Posch, Hien, Djimsiti; Zappacosta, De Roon, Éderson, Bellanova; Pašalić; De Ketelaere, Retegui