After last night’s UEFA Champions League duels, people in Italy have mixed feelings. Atalanta secured the spot in the play-offs and will have a perfect opportunity to obtain the place in the TOP 8 against relaxed Barcelona in a week. On the other hand, despite claiming their maiden UCL victory, Bologna were officially eliminated from the competition.Atalanta have secured a place in the knockout league phase play-offs but look well placed to get a ticket for the round-of-16, while Bologna became the first Serie A team to be eliminated from the competition.#Atalanta #Bologna #Juventus #ChampionsLeague— Football Italia (@footballitalia) January 21, 2025 Juventus disappointed once again, salvaging only a goalless draw against the Belgian Club Brugge, but secured the play-offs, although they would much more prefer the direct qualification for the Round of 16. Hence, the Milan giants’ tonight’s games carry much more significance than usual, as they won’t play just for themselves, but also for the pride of Italian football.Walker cuts his wage to go to MilanEven though they have been almost perfect since the beginning of the UCL campaign, Inter Milan’s defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in the previous round spoiled their position in the competition. Still, the Nerazzurri have pretty good chances to snatch a TOP 8 spot, especially if they beat the underdogs Sparta in Prague (23.00), which are on the verge of elimination.Although Inter’s city rivals, AC Milan, are only one point behind, their odds for one of the TOP 8 places are significantly smaller, as numerous clubs fight for those precious tickets, and literally every point matters and makes a difference.Man United at war with Serie A sides over Nigerian-descent wonderLuckily for the Rossoneri, they’ll be firm favourites just like their “archrivals,” as they’ll await the written-off Girona at San Siro. The eventual triumph would undoubtedly guarantee Sergio Conceicao’s crew the play-off spot, although their last round clash against another Dinamo in Zagreb will be the decisive one.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ROUND 7TuesdayMonaco – Aston Villa 1-0 (1-0)/Singo 8/Atalanta – Sturm Graz 5-0 (1-0)/Retegui 12, Pasalic 58, De Ketelaere 63, Lookman 90, Brescianini 90+5/Atletico Madrid – Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 (0-1)/Alvarez 52, 90 – Hincapie 45+1/Benfica – Barcelona 4-5 (3-1)/Pavlidis 2, 22, 30 pen, Araujo 68 og – Lewandowski 13 pen, 78 pen, Raphinha 64, 90+6, Garcia 86/Bologna – Borussia Dortmund 2-1 (0-1)/Dallinga 71, Junior 72 – Guirassy 15 pen/Club Brugge – Juventus 0-0Crvena zvezda – PSV 2-3 (0-3)/Ndiaye 71, Djiga 78 – De Jong 17, Til 23, Flamingo 43/Liverpool – Lille 2-1 (1-0)/Salah 34, Elliot 67 – David 62/Slovan Bratislava – Stuttgart 1-3 (0-2)/Metsoko 85 – Leweling 11,34, Rieder 87/Wednesday20:45: (2.85) Leipzig (3.70) Sporting (2.45)20:45: (2.70) Shakhtar (3.10) Brest (2.75)23:00: (7.75) Sparta Praha (4.50) Inter (1.42)23:00: (1.12) Arsenal (11.0) Dinamo Zagreb (22.0)23:00: (1.38) Celtic (5.40) Young Boys (8.50)23:00: (6.75) Feyenoord (5.00) Bayern (1.43)23:00: (1.48) Milan (4.65) Girona (7.25)23:00: (2.50) PSG (3.80) Man City (2.75)23:00 (1.08) Real Madrid (14.0) RB Salzburg (30.0)***odds are subject to change***
