Atalanta were punished three times on the counter-attack, then after Ademola Lookman gave them hope, his penalty was parried to crash out of the Champions League against Club Brugge.
La Dea had to turn the first leg 2-1 defeat around, decided by a comically poor penalty decision in added time. Isak Hien joined Daniel Maldini, Odilon Kossounou, Gianluca Scamacca and Giorgio Scalvini on the absentee list, with Ademola Lookman only fit for the bench, but Sead Kolasinac returned to the starting XI. Brugge were only missing Bjorn Meijer and had done well in the league phase, beating Sturm Graz, Aston Villa and Sporting CP, holding Celtic and Juventus to draws.
See how it unfolded on the Liveblog
It was the worst possible start, because after Kolasinac nodded a Juan Cuadrado corner just past the near post, Club Brugge struck with a classic counter-attack.
Jutglà picked a smart slide-rule pass to release Chemsdine Talbi, who took a touch and drilled the angled drive between Marten de Roon’s legs into the far bottom corner.
It’s the DREAM start for Brugge in Bergamo 🤩
Chemsdine Talbi’s early strike gives the Belgians a two-goal aggregate lead against Atalanta.
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Mateo Retegui had the ball in the net on 17 minutes, but had started the run too early and was offside on Cuadrado’s roll across from the right.
Simon Mignolet rushed off his line to stop Ederson scoring from a Charles De Ketelaere pass, but it was Club Brugge who added another when Marco Carnesecchi made a great save on Christos Tzolis after the strong Ardon Jashari run, but could do nothing on the Talbi follow-up.
Chemsdine Talbi scores again 😮💨
Club Brugge are tearing Atalanta apart! Great work from Ardon Jashari to create the chance 🔥
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The confidence visibly sapped from the side that was now 4-1 down on aggregate, as Mario Pasalic, Cuadrado and Davide Zappacosta headers were straight at Mignolet.
Ferran Jutglà cut inside after a Jashari long ball and drilled wide of the far post, but the events of first half stoppages made Atalanta feel as if they’d been cursed.
In one single move, Zappacosta’s header hit the upright, a Pasalic effort was parried from point-blank range and the Cuadrado follow-up was cleared off the line by Mechele, then Club Brugge scored on the counter-attack with the powerful Jutglà strike from the edge of the area.
Ferran Jutglà, what a strike 🚀
An incredible sequence of events sees Club Brugge score a third, moments after Atalanta see an effort cleared off the line!
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Lookman made his comeback for the restart and had an immediate impact, as within 45 seconds he had seen a shot charged down, then was at full stretch to prod the Zappacosta assist home from 12 yards and give Atalanta hope.
Instant impact from Ademola Lookman ⚡️
Off the bench and straight onto the scoresheet — Lookman wastes no time sparking Atalanta’s fightback!
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There was another mad scramble when Cuadrado was caught from behind by Tzolis and Ederson fired an effort against the upright, also handling. Following a very long VAR check and On-Field Review, the referee eventually awarded a penalty, which Mignolet saved from the very central Lookman attempt.
Simon Mignolet denies Ademola Lookman from the spot 😨
Club Brugge preserve their three-goal aggregate lead!
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Atalanta kept pushing anyway, Lookman’s shot charged down and the Retegui follow-up parried by Mignolet at the near post, then the goalkeeper pushed a Lookman curler out of the far bottom corner.
As it became evident there would be no miraculous comeback, Rafael Toloi lost his head and was shown a straight red card for chasing down and trying to hit Maxim De Cuyper, who had gone for some gamesmanship with a nudge to slow down a throw-in.
Atalanta captain Rafael Tolói completely loses his head and receives a red card as a consequence 🟥
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Atalanta 1-3 Club Brugge (2-5 agg)
Talbi 3, 27 (B), Jutglà 45+3 (B), Lookman 46 (A)
Saved penalty: Lookman 61 (A)
Sent off: Toloi 87 (A)
Player statistic
| 3' |  |
Chemsdine Talbi (Assist: Ferrán Jutglà) | ||
| Sead Kolasinac |  |
11' | ||
| 27' | |
Chemsdine Talbi | ||
| 36' | |
Raphael Onyedika | ||
| 45+3' | |
Ferrán Jutglà (Assist: Christos Tzolis) |
| Ademola Lookman (Assist: Davide Zappacosta) |
|
46' | ||
| 60' | |
Christos Tzolis | ||
| Ademola Lookman |  |
61' | ||
| Berat Djimsiti | |
80' | ||
| Rafael Tolói |  |
87' | ||
| Marten de Roon | |
87' | ||
| 87' | |
Maxim De Cuyper | ||
| 87' | |
Gustaf Nilsson |
Match statistic
Well I called it last week after the first legs, I posted that Milan and Atalanta would struggle to progress and so it’s panned out. The Champions League is a step too far for Serie A . The league needs to attract top coaches who know how to manage the Champions League, if not Serie A’s wait for Champions League success will go on.
What is Gaperini’s excuse this week?