Late spot kick sinks Atalanta in Champions League

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Late spot kick sinks Atalanta in Champions League

Club Brugge have scored with a disputed penalty kick in added time to beat Atalanta 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League playoff.

Atalanta defender Isak Hien was judged to have raised a hand into the face of Brugge forward Gustaf Nilsson, his teammate in the Sweden national team, as they chased a loose ball on Wednesday night.

After Turkish referee Umut Meler showed yellow cards to Hien and a teammate for protesting, Nilsson got up to win the game by sending Atalanta goalkeeper Rui Patricio the wrong way with his spot kick.

Brugge had led on former Barcelona forward Ferran Jutgla’s shot in the 15th minute and Atalanta levelled in the 41st on Mario Pasalic’s header. Atalanta host the second leg next Tuesday.

It was a meeting of teams that finished 24th and ninth, respectively, in the new 36-team single standings format — in theory the biggest mismatch of the eight knockout playoffs being played on back-to-back midweeks. The top eight teams in the standings last month advanced direct to the round of 16 in March, leaving Nos. 9 to 24 to compete for the other eight places.

Brugge led in the 15th by punishing Atalanta — winner of the second-tier Europa League last season — for casually passing the ball across the defence.

Teenage winger Chemsdine Talbi intercepted and crossed for Jutgla to control the ball and fire in the opening goal. It was a first goal for Jutgla, who went scoreless through the eight-game league phase.

Atalanta tied minutes before halftime on a glancing header by Croatia veteran Pasalic connecting with a cross by Davide Zappacosta.

Brugge kept Atalanta forward Charles De Ketelaere quiet on his return to the club he joined as a seven-year-old until leaving in 2022 for Italy, first to Milan. Atalanta were missing winger Ademola Lookman for the fourth straight game this month because of a knee injury.

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