Champions League: Inter are Serie A's lone hope after AC Milan, Juventus and Atalanta upset in playoff round

AC Milan, Atalanta and Juventus were all expected to join Inter in the Champions League round of 16. But after an upset-filled knockout stage playoffs, only Inter remain. In a brutal week for Italian clubs, Milan were bounced by Feyenoord, Atalanta lost at home to Club Brugge, and Juve fell in extra time at PSV in a big setback. While Inter will have all the expectations on their shoulders, the race for the additional fifth spot seems more unlikely, as Spain took over Italy the second place behind England in coefficient rankings based on performance. Here's a look at what went wrong:

The Rossoneri's 1-1 draw in Milan against Feyenoord cost the Italian giants the qualification to the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League despite the early goal of former Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez, as former Philadelphia Union striker Julian Carranza scored the deciding 1-1 goal in the second half, minutes after the red card received by AC Milan left back Theo Hernandez, the moment that completely changed the game. Hernandez's double yellow card had a big impact on the qualification of the Rossoneri. who had a disappointing night after losing 1-0 also the first leg in the Netherlands the week before. Coach Sergio Conceicao's future will now depend on the last part of the season, as the Rossoneri are still in the race for a spot in the top four, but the early elimination against Feyenoord will definitely have an impact on the long term future even if the former FC Porto manager already won the Supercoppa Italiana final against Inter. 

While both AC Milan and Atalanta lost the first legs, Juventus were knocked out from the playoffs after winning 2-1 in the first leg played in Turin. The side coached by Thiago Motta had a difficult night in Eindhoven and lost 3-1 thanks to the goals scored by former Inter winger Ivan Perisic and Ismael Saibari despite U.S. International Timothy Weah scoring the equalizer and his first-ever Champions League goal. Weah became the sixth USMNT man to score in the Champions League knockout stage after Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Adams, Jermaine Jones and DeMarcus Beasley. As the game went to extra time and the pressure of the Phillips Stadion grew, Dutch defender Ryan Flamingo scored the deciding goal and eliminated the Bianconeri from the European tournament, increasing the pressure on manager Thiago Motta. 

Despite the expectations and the 2-1 defeat in Belgium, Club Brugge were able to score three goals in the first half against Atalanta and eliminated the Italian side in one of the most surprising matches of the week. However, the game got more heated after the final whistle as Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini openly criticized Nigerian striker Ademola Lookman for missing the penalty at the beginning of the second half.

 "He shouldn't have taken the penalty. He's one of the worst penalty takers I've ever seen," Gasperini said. "The penalty takers were [Charles] De Ketelaere and [Mario] Retegui, but apparently [Lookman] was euphoric [after scoring] and then there was this penalty. Someone else could have still missed it but it wasn't a nice gesture."

On Wednesday, the Nigerian striker responded to the open criticism of his manager and wrote on his social media channels, "Being singled out in the manner I have been not only hurts but feels deeply disrespectful, not least because of the immense hard work and commitment I have always put in each and every day to help bring success to this club and to the incredible fans of Bergamo." 

Atalanta can now focus on the league as the Dea are currently third behind Napoli and Inter, but the European setback will be difficult to digest for the winning side of the 2023-24 UEFA Europa League.