September 30, (THEWILL) — Atalanta recovered from a goal down to defeat Club Brugge 2-1 in Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League fixture at New Balance Arena, with Lazar Samardzic and Mario Pasalic scoring late to overturn the deficit. The Italian side, still reeling from a 4-0 thrashing by Paris Saint-Germain in their previous European outing, displayed greater determination after the interval to claim all three points and deny the Belgian visitors consecutive wins in the competition’s league phase.
Christos Tzolis gave Brugge the advantage before half-time with a curling effort from just beyond the penalty area that nestled into the bottom-right corner. The Greek winger had already sent one attempt over the bar earlier in the match, whilst Atalanta struggled to threaten, with Lorenzo Bernasconi’s volleyed effort that trickled just wide representing their closest opportunity of an opening period in which they failed to test the opposition goalkeeper.
The hosts improved after the break, with half-time replacement Davide Zappacosta dragging a shot wide following an aerial control. Tzolis continued to trouble Marco Carnesecchi in the Atalanta goal early in the second half, but the match turned when visiting keeper Nordin Jackers fouled Pasalic whilst attempting to clear the ball. Samardzic stepped up to dispatch the penalty into the right corner, sending Jackers the wrong direction.
Brugge nearly regained their lead when Hugo Vetlesen capitalised on a mistake by Carnesecchi but fired narrowly off target. That miss proved costly within minutes when Pasalic headed home from a well-constructed corner routine with just three minutes remaining on the clock, completing the turnaround for the hosts.
Ademola Lookman returned to the starting XI for the hosts buy with negligible contribution. However, the victory lifts Atalanta after their heavy defeat in Paris, whilst Brugge will rue their inability to protect the lead and capitalise on late opportunities that might have preserved at least a draw from their travels to Italy.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
