Italian sides flop in Champions League as Inter only team standing

Atalanta's Europa League triumph over Bayer Leverkusen (3-0) less than a year ago and Inter's hard-fought Champions League final loss at the hands of Manchester City (1-0) in 2023 are the only bright moments for Italian football on the European stage.

We must go back to 2014/15 to find the last time there was only one Italian club in a Champions League edition ahead of the round of 16. That time it was Juventus, who went on to reach the final before losing out to Barcelona, while this time it is Inter.

Of the five clubs in the tournament, Bologna were the first to face elimination as their first European adventure ended at the league phase. AC Milan, Atalanta and Juventus all collapsed within 24 hours as they were unable to beat their opponents and get past the play-off round.

The 'Rossoneri' were knocked out by Feyenoord with the tie ending 2-1 on aggregate for the Dutch side. Any hopes for Milan to rescue a spot into the last 16 at the San Siro were killed off when Theo Hernandez's dive in the penalty box earned him a second yellow.

In another battle between Italy and the Netherlands, Juventus paid a visit to Eindhoven with the upper hand after beating PSV in the first leg of the tie in Turin. But Bosz's men triumphed 3-1 on home soil as the 'Old Lady' blew away their lead to lose 4-3 on aggregate.

Atalanta then completed the triple Italian elimination after being demolished by Club Brugge 5-2 on aggregate. The Belgians won both ties - 2-1 and then 1-3 - to overcome the 2024 Europa League champions, with Lookman also missing a penalty just past the hour mark.

Numerous talking points have risen from the defeats. First, will Theo Hernadez and Ademola Lookman still be at their current clubs next season? The French full-back has been heavily criticised for his attitude on the pitch but his shocking display on Wednesday was seemingly the last straw for both club and fans.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian star sparked speculation after revealing that he was hurt by the 'disrespectful' actions of his boss Gasperini, who publicly hit out at his player for his flawed penalty-taking skills. "Lookman is one of the worst penalty-takers I’ve ever seen," Gasperini said after the match.

The second, according to 'Gazzetta dello Sport' involves the future of Thiago Motta (Juve), Sergio Conceicao (Milan) and Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta) at their respective clubs. "This European flob could reshuffle the cards for the future of manager," the Italian sporting outlet predicted on the matter.

Now it is up to Inter, who will face one of PSV or Feyenoord in the round of 16 of the Champions League, to maintain the name of Italian football among the elites in Europe. Having finished off the league phase in fourth place, Simone Inzaghi's men were spared from any surprises in the playoffs and qualified directly into the knockouts.