As Inter and Juventus Fall, Atalanta Saves Face for Serie A

The 2025-2026 Champions League has proven to be a challenging period for Italian clubs in Serie A. Four teams were entered into the league phase, but Napoli, the defending champions, failed to advance past the group stage, finishing in 30th place. Inter Milan, Juventus, and Atalanta also failed to qualify directly for the round of 16, and all three had to go through the play-off round. Inter Milan faced Bodo/Glimt, Juventus played Galatasaray, and Atalanta took on Borussia Dortmund. The first leg of the play-offs was difficult, with Inter losing 1-3, Juventus falling 2-5, and Atalanta losing 0-2. This raised concerns that Serie A might not have any representatives in the round of 16. Inter lost again in the second leg, 1-2, and were eliminated with an aggregate score of 2-5. Juventus managed to tie the aggregate score at 5-5 in the second leg, but ultimately lost 5-7 after conceding two goals in extra time. In the first hour, Atalanta had already overturned the aggregate score to 3-2. Gianluca Scamacca opened the scoring in the 5th minute. Davide Zappacosta added another goal in the 45th minute, and Mario Pasalic scored the third goal in the 57th minute. Atalanta then received a penalty at the end of the match, which Lazar Samardzic converted. The final score of 4-1 gave Atalanta a 4-3 aggregate victory, ensuring that Serie A would have a representative in the round of 16. Atalanta coach Raffaele Palladino believes that this victory is important for the club and for Italian football as a whole. “This match will be remembered in history, not only here in Bergamo for the Atalanta fans, but for Italian football as a whole,” he said.