Club Brugge stunned Atalanta with a 3-1 win, 5-2 on aggregate, to progress to the UEFA Champions League last 16. They took a controversial lead to Bergamo, but their second leg performance left no doubt that they deserved to progress.
Chemsdine Talbi improved on his man-of-the-match performance in the first leg with two goals in the first 27 minutes. Ferran Jutglà added a third late in the first half with a sensational half-volley and Gian Piero Gasperini’s side had an impossible job to turn it around.
Ademola Lookman returned from injury at half-time and within a minute gave Atalanta some hope when he scored. But a missed penalty by Lookman 10 minutes later will be the what-if moment of the tie, and Rafael Tolói’s late red card added insult to Atalanta’s injury.
Embed from Getty ImagesAs it happened
A contentious late penalty decision marred the first leg between these two and saw Brugge travel to Bergamo with a 2-1 lead. However, the occasion clearly didn’t get to them.
Just three minutes in, Hans Vanaken split the defence with a pass to Ferran Jugtlà. He flicked it on for Chemsdine Talbi, and the youngster shot across goal into the far corner to give the Belgians a two-goal aggregate lead.
Despite the goal, Atalanta were on top in the opening minutes of the game. They controlled possession and thought they had pulled one back after 15 minutes. Mario Retegui poked home a deep cross by Juan Cuadrado, but Serie A’s top scorer had strayed offside and his goal would not count.
Embed from Getty ImagesNot many would have predicted that by the 27th minute, it would be 2-0 Club Brugge. However, the Belgian champions and Talbi kept defying expectations. Ardan Jashari drove down the left side holding off Éderson. He skipped past Atalanta captain Rafael Tolói to get into the box before cutting it back to Christos Tzolis. The Greek attacker shot straight at Carnesecchi, and for a moment it felt like a massive missed opportunity for the Belgians. However, the ball fell back to Talbi, and with Carnesecchi on the floor he easily scored.
In the final minute of first-half stoppage time, Atalanta threw everything forward to pull themselves back into the tie. Davide Zappacosta struck the post, while Mario Pašalić and Cuadrado saw their efforts cleared off the line. But suddenly, Club Brugge countered – Tzolis drove forward and set up Jutglà on the half-volley, who scored the pick of the night’s goals with a spectacular 20-yard strike into the bottom left corner. Atalanta found themselves trailing 5-1 on aggregate at the break.
Embed from Getty ImagesHowever, Ademola Lookman came on at halftime to offer them some belief. Within a minute, Atalanta’s Europa League hero had pulled one back for the hosts, finishing off Zappacosta’s low cross. It sparked life into the Italians. Ten minutes on, Atalanta had the ball in the net once again but it was ruled off for offside. After a VAR check, they were offered a lifeline: Tzolis was judged to have fouled Cuadrado in the buildup to that disallowed goal. Lookman stepped up to take the penalty – but his spotkick was poor and Simon Mignolet saved it, losing a crucial opportunity to build Atalanta’s momentum.
Atalanta remained on top, but their intensity and belief petered out as the minutes passed. Their captain Rafael Tolói completely lost his head with Maxim De Cuyper as the game came to a close and received a red card – a chaotic end to Atalanta’s Champions League campaign. Despite coming 9th in the league phase – meaning they almost avoided the playoffs entirely – their European dreams for this season are over, courtesy of 24th-placed Brugge.
Brugge survived the early second half barrage and saw out their 3-1 lead on the night to win 5-2 on aggregate. They go into the round of 16 to face either Lille or Aston Villa.
Lineups
ATA: Carnesecchi; Tolói, Djimsiti, Kolašinac; Cuadrado, Éderson, De Roon, Zappacosta; Pašalić; Retegui, De Ketelaere
CLU: Mignolet; Seys, Ordoñez, Mechele, De Cuyper; Jashari, Onyedika, Tzolis, Vanaken, Talbi; Jutglà
