February 19, (THEWILL) – Nigerian forward Ademola Lookman experienced a night of mixed fortunes as Club Brugge eliminated Atalanta from the UEFA Champions League with a 3-1 victory in Italy on Tuesday.
The Belgian side progressed to the last 16 with a 5-2 aggregate win, despite Lookman finding the net early in the second half.
Club Brugge established a commanding lead through teenage talent Chemsdine Talbi, who netted twice in the opening period.
The 19-year-old winger opened the scoring after just three minutes, finishing with precision following an assist from Ferran Jutgla.
Talbi struck again in the 27th minute, reacting quickly to convert after a Christos Tzolis shot was parried by the goalkeeper. Nigerian international Raphael Onyedika received a caution from the referee in the 36th minute.
The visitors further extended their advantage when Jutgla, formerly of Barcelona, fired home an impressive strike from outside the penalty area during first-half stoppage time.
This left Atalanta requiring four goals after the interval merely to force extra time, a mountain that proved impossible to climb despite their 29 attempts throughout the match.
Lookman provided a brief moment of optimism for the hosts by scoring immediately after the restart, but his chance to further reduce the deficit ended in disappointment when his penalty kick was saved by Club Brugge goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.
The frustration culminated in Atalanta captain Rafael Toloi receiving a red card in the 87th minute following an incident with Maxim De Cuyper.
The result marks a significant upset in European football, with Club Brugge having finished 24th in the league phase while Atalanta placed ninth.
The Belgian team now awaits the outcome of Friday’s draw to determine whether they will face Lille or Aston Villa in the next round, having already defeated the latter 1-0 during the group stage in November.
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.
