Club Brugge dump Atalanta out of Champions League

Bergamo, Italy: Teenage starlet Chemsdine Talbi scored twice as Club Brugge claimed a 3-1 victory away to Atalanta in Italy on Tuesday to win their Champions League play-off tie 5-2 on aggregate and advance to the last 16.

Talbi’s brace was followed by a superb Ferran Jutgla strike as the Belgians built on their 2-1 win at home in last week’s first leg and advanced to a tie against either Lille or Aston Villa in the next round. Atalanta had 29 attempts on goal but were punished on the break by the Belgians and Ademola Lookman’s reply at the start of the second half was scant consolation.

Lookman also had a penalty saved while Atalanta captain Rafael Toloi was sent off late on, as last season’s Europa League winners bowed out of Europe. “Over the course of the two matches we created more than they did but they made more of their chances,” said Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini.

“But you can only give them credit as they’re a lively team and have a lot of quality.” It is a major surprise as Atalanta had finished ninth in the table in the league phase, just missing direct qualification for the last 16, while Club Brugge came 24th, taking the last spot in the play-offs. “We played in a really mature way, with a lot of confidence and courage,” Club Brugge coach Nicky Hayen told broadcaster TNT Sports.

The Belgians had claimed a surprising and highly controversial victory in last week’s first leg thanks to a disputed late penalty converted by Gustaf Nilsson. They went ahead on Tuesday in Bergamo inside three minutes as Jutgla teed up Talbi, who still had work to do before firing low into the far corner. Talbi, the 19-year-old winger, enjoying something of a breakthrough season, struck again on 27 minutes, following in to score after a Christos Tzolis shot had been parried.

Incredibly, the visitors then made the score 3-0 on the night in first-half stoppage time when Tzolis supplied Jutgla and the former Barcelona youngster lashed in a shot from the edge of the box.