Atalanta vs Club Brugge facts

Atalanta face a 2-1 deficit as Club Brugge come to Bergamo for the concluding leg of their UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-off tie.

The Belgian champions, who had progressed from the league phase in 24th place – the final qualifying berth – claimed a first-leg victory thanks to Gustaf Nilsson's 94th-minute penalty. Ferran Jutglà's 15th-minute opener for Club Brugge had been cancelled out by Mario Pašalić (41).

That was the clubs' first meeting – the only tie in the round not to have been played before – and only Atalanta's third fixture against a team from Belgium. Club Brugge, meanwhile, are taking on an Italian side for the fourth time this season alone.

Form guide

Atalanta

Record vs Belgian clubs: W0 D0 L3 F3 A6
Home record vs Belgian clubs: W0 D0 L1

Atalanta's only previous games against a team from Belgium before this tie ended their interest in the 1987/88 European Cup Winners' Cup, Mechelen beating them 2-1 both home and away in the semi-finals – meaning all three of their fixtures against Belgian opponents have now ended in a 1-2 defeat.

Atalanta claimed only the club's second major silverware – and a first top-flight trophy since the 1962/63 Coppa Italia – in 2023/24, defeating Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the Europa League final in Dublin with Ademola Lookman scoring the first final hat-trick.

That means Atalanta are taking part in the Champions League proper for the fourth time – all since 2019 – in 2024/25.

A 5-0 defeat of Sturm Graz on Matchday 7 was only Atalanta's second victory in their last 11 home Champions League matches (D5 L4).

Home and away, the Italian side have won four of their last 15 Champions League fixtures (D6 L5).

This is Atalanta's fourth knockout tie in the competition; they beat Valencia 8-4 on aggregate in the 2019/20 round of 16 (4-1 h, 4-3 a) before a 1-2 defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in a one-off quarter-final, and lost 1-4 over two legs to Real Madrid in the following season's round of 16.

Atalanta have won two of the four European ties in which they lost the first away leg, losing the last, against Borussia Dortmund in the 2017/18 Europa League round of 32 (2-3 a, 1-1 h). Both previous instances they lost the away first leg 2-1 occurred in the 1987/88 European Cup Winners' Cup, beating Merthyr Tydfil in the first round (2-0 h) but losing to Mechelen in the semi-finals (1-2 h).

Atalanta's record in one UEFA penalty shoot-out is W0 L1:
3-4 v Copenhagen, 2018/19 Europa League qualifying play-off

Club Brugge

Record vs Italian clubs: W6 D7 L12 F20 A29
Away record vs Italian clubs: W2 D3 L7

Club Brugge have now played two Italian teams in this season's Champions League, losing 3-1 at AC Milan on Matchday 3 before a 0-0 Matchday 7 draw at home to Juventus.

The first-leg win in this tie ended a 15-match run without a victory against Italian opponents (D6 L9), since a 1-0 victory in Milan in the 2003/04 group stage.

The Belgian side's 2023/24 European campaign was ended by Italian opponents, Fiorentina winning 4-3 on aggregate in the UEFA Europa Conference League semi-finals (2-3 a, 1-1 h).

Having won 1-0 at Roma on their first visit to Italy, in the 1975/76 UEFA Cup third round, the victory at Milan is Club Brugge's only success in their subsequent 11 games away to Serie A sides (D3 L7).

Club Brugge won their first three two-legged knockout tie against Italian opposition; last season's loss to Fiorentina was their third defeat in the three subsequent ties.

The 3-1 defeat at Manchester City on Matchday 8 was only Club Brugge's seventh in their last 19 away matches in the Champions League proper (W5 D7).

Club Brugge have won seven of their last 13 away European games (D1 L5).

This is the 45th time that Club Brugge have won the first home leg of a UEFA competition tie. They have gone on to qualify on 30 of the previous 44 occasions, including 14 of the last 16. When they have prevailed at home in the first leg 2-1, they have qualified on five of the ten occasions including four of the last five but lost the most recent, in the 2018/19 Europa League round of 32 against Salzburg (0-4 a).

Club Brugge's record in four UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W4 L0:
4-1 v Shakhtar Donetsk, 2002/03 Champions League third qualifying round
4-2 v Borussia Dortmund, 2003/04 Champions League third qualifying round
4-3 v Vålerenga, 2005/06 Champions League third qualifying round
4-3 v Lech Poznań, 2009/10 Europa League qualifying play-off

Links and trivia

Born in Bruges, Charles De Ketelaere joined Club Brugge in 2008 aged seven and was also a ball kid for the first team. He made his senior debut aged 18 in September 2019 and went on to score 26 goals in 120 matches in all competitions, winning three league titles, before signing for Milan in 2022.

Odilon Kossounou made 55 appearances for Club Brugge between 2019 and 2021, winning two league titles.

International team-mates:
Ademola Lookman & Raphael Onyedika (Nigeria)

Latest news

Atalanta

Atalanta were held 0-0 at home by Cagliari on Saturday; that made it 600 Serie A points for Gian Piero Gasperini, only the second coach to reach that mark with a single club after former Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri (663).

The Bergamo club had scored in their previous 27 home Serie A games.

Atalanta ended a run of three games without a win in all competitions (D2 L1) in style with a 5-0 victory at Verona on 8 February.

Mateo Retegui hit four and is Serie A's leading scorer with 20 goals.

Atalanta have won just three of their last 13 games across all competitions (D6 L4), scoring 12 goals in those three wins and eight in the other ten matches.

La Dea's 15-match unbeaten Serie A run (W11 D4) was ended by a 2-3 defeat at home to leaders Napoli on 18 January – their only league loss in 20 games.

Atalanta scored a club-record 126 goals in 2024.

Defender Odilon Kossounou suffered an adductor injury in a 0-0 draw at Udinese on 11 January and is expected to be sidelined for at least three months after surgery.

Gianluca Scamacca made his first appearance this season as a late substitute against Torino on 1 February after recovering from a knee ligament injury but has since suffered a quadriceps problem and may miss the rest of the season.

Sead Kolašinac (thigh) and Daniel Maldini (groin) have missed the last three games.

Ademola Lookman has not played since 25 January due to a knee injury.

Club Brugge

On Saturday Club Brugge came from two goals down to draw at Sint-Truiden thanks to strikes in the last 20 minutes from Hans Vanaken and, in added time, Christos Tzolis.

Nicky Hayen's side lost two of their first three league games this season (D1) but a 2-1 defeat at Antwerp on 2 February is one of only two in the last 23 (W15 D6).

Gustav Nilsson has five goals in his last six league appearances; his first-leg goal against Atalanta was his first in the Champions League.

The 0-0 Matchday 7 draw with Juventus is one of only two games in 36 in all competitions in which Club Brugge had failed to score; they have two or more goals in 12 of their last 16 league fixtures.

Bjorn Meier has been out with a knock since 25 January.

On 4 February Vanaken won the Belgian Golden Shoe – for the country's best player – for the third time.

Hayen was named Belgium's coach of the year, with Simon Mignolet taking the goalkeeper's award.