Why Are Italian Clubs Struggling in the Champions League?

How did the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 playoffs turn out?

The threat of being without a representative in the Champions League round of 16 loomed over Italy after last season's Scudetto winners, Napoli, were eliminated in the league stage, and this season's league leaders, Inter Milan, were eliminated in the playoffs. Then, Atalanta re-emerged as a mainstay. "La Dea," or "The Goddess," once again saved Italy's European glory with her dramatic rimonta.

Bergamo Stadium, Italy, Wednesday (25/2/2026) evening local time or early Thursday morning WIB, witnessed Atalanta's brilliance in the second leg of the playoffs. To beat Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta knew they had to build a lead of at least three goals after losing 0-2 in the first leg at home.

The goddess fulfilled that heavy mission by winning 4-1 to advance to the round of 16 with an aggregate score of 4-3. The desired lead was even established in less than an hour of the match through goals from Gianluca Scamacca in the 5th minute, Davide Zappacosta (45’), and Mario Pasalic (57’). A penalty goal from Lazar Samardzic at the end of the match secured Atalanta's victory.

Indeed, not many expected Atalanta to advance further than other Italian representatives. Moreover, Atalanta's chances are considered quite challenging as they must face the 2023-2024 season finalists, Borussia Dortmund. The 0-2 defeat in the first meeting underscored this.

Why are Serie A clubs slumping this season?

An anomaly is currently occurring in Italian football. Representatives of Serie A are being eliminated one by one in the Champions League. On the other hand, Italian players who are pursuing their careers abroad have become the main backbone of their teams to continue advancing in the elite club competition in Europe.

Inter Milan, the current league leaders and the strongest contender for the Scudetto in Italy's Serie A, have been eliminated from the Champions League. The Nerazzurri have fallen twice to Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt. Surprisingly, Inter lost 5-2 on aggregate.

Napoli had also previously ended their Champions League campaign. As the defending Italian league champions, Napoli were eliminated in the group stage. Antonio Conte's side's performance was insufficient to secure a place in the top 24 and a place in the knockout playoffs.

Italy also has the opportunity to record a dark history in the modern era of the Champions League. For the first time, there are no Italian representatives in the round of 16.

In a special column in La Gazzetta dello Sport, Arrigo Sacchi mentioned three factors that made him confident Inter could overturn a 1-3 aggregate deficit in the second leg at the San Siro Stadium on Wednesday (25/2/2026) WIB. That hope ended in vain after Inter lost 1-2 to Bodo/Glimt in front of their home fans.

Why Bodo/Glimt could overthrow Inter Milan?

Milan's San Siro Stadium is no longer considered the cattedrale del calcio, or cathedral of Italian football, but rather the cimitero del calcio, or tomb of football. In that iconic arena, the ambitions of two Italian teams have been dashed in the past three months.

The Italian public witnessed a poor performance when they saw their national team humiliated 1-4 by Norway in the final match of the 2026 World Cup qualifying group stage, November 2025. This result caused Italy to have to take the playoff route to compete for the remaining ticket to North America, next summer.

Three months later, it was Norwegian club Bodo/Glimt's turn to eliminate Italy's current top team, Inter Milan. Bodo/Glimt defeated Inter 2-1 in the second leg of the 2025-2026 Champions League playoffs on Wednesday (February 25, 2026) early morning WIB.

"I Nerazzurri" suffered an aggregate defeat of 2-5 against the Norwegian club. Inter's performance has significantly declined compared to their achievement of reaching the final in the 2024-2025 edition. In fact, Inter was a finalist in that prestigious European club competition in two of the previous three editions.

How did Real Madrid escape Benfica?

Real Madrid's cycle leading up to the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League has consistently revolved around Benfica. Real's automatic qualification to the round of 16 was briefly jeopardized due to Benfica's dramatic victory in the final match of the group stage. Real's champion mentality prevented Benfica from repeating a similar miracle.

In the round of 16 playoff match, Real Madrid turned around Benfica's fate, which had not been destined to advance to the knockout stage from the start. Real Madrid won the decisive match at the Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid on Thursday (February 26, 2026) early morning WIB, 2-1. Real Madrid also won 3-1 on aggregate. Thus, "Los Blancos," who had previously been separated temporarily, finally managed to return to the embrace of the round of 16.

As a resilient team, it was not easy for Real to conquer Benfica. Even without the presence of Coach Jose Mourinho on the sidelines due to a card suspension, Benfica was still able to challenge Real, who played in front of tens of thousands of their supporters.

The combination of Amar Dedic and Richard Rios on the right wing has consistently posed challenges for the left side of Real's defense, which is guarded by Alvaro Carreras and Eduardo Camavinga. The goal scored by Benfica, netted by Rafa Silva in the 14th minute, originated from a "leak" in the defensive area protected by those two players.

Real coach Alvaro Arbeloa instructed Carreras to advance more to support the attack in order to secure Real's position. However, the space left by Carreras could not be perfectly covered by Camavinga.