Chemsdine Talbi scored an early double as Club Brugge stormed into the Champions League last-16 stage with a memorable 3-1 away victory over Atalanta securing a 5-2 aggregate triumph.
2024/2025 UEFA Champions League
1-3
Match Events
Talbi fired home just two minutes into Tuesday's clash before doubling his account, and the visitors' lead, before the half-hour mark at Gewiss Stadium.
Ferran Jutgla netted Brugge's other goal in a dominant first-half performance, leaving Atalanta reeling with a 3-0 deficit at the interval.
Nicky Hayen's side still had to fight with a desperate rearguard action in the second half as their hosts looked to conjure up an unlikely comeback.
Ademola Lookman pulled one back less than a minute into the second half but then had a penalty saved by veteran goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, who made several other important stops.
Those saves may have added to the home side's frustration as captain Rafael Toloi was sent off late on for violent conduct towards Maxim De Cuyper.
Atalanta’s elimination added to a forgettable Tuesday for Italian football, following AC Milan’s exit earlier when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Feyenoord and were eliminated with a 2-1 defeat on aggregate.
Club Brugge book their spot in the round of 16 #UCL pic.twitter.com/XzhCrW51ww
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) February 18, 2025
Data Debrief: Rapid start pays for Club Brugge
Timed at 2:01, Talbi scored Club Brugge's earliest-ever goal in the Champions League, beating the prior record set by Emmanuel Dennis against Real Madrid in October 2019 (8:09).
That was the perfect start for the away side and things only got better for Talbi, who scored just the third brace in Club Brugge's Champions League history and first since Dennis in the same fixture with Madrid.
In the process, the teenager also became the youngest Belgian player to score twice in a match in the competition, aged 19 years and 285 days.
By contrast, Atalanta have conceded three or more goals in two of their last three home games in European competition, as many times as across their first 39 such matches combined across club history.
Atalanta had their own fast start, however, with Lookman scoring 34 seconds after the interval for the fastest goal ever netted in history by a substitute from the start of the second half of a Champions League match.
The hosts dominated the clash in terms of expected goals, too, accumulating 3.57 to the visitors' 1.15, yet it was a superior quality of finishing that proved the difference in Bergamo.
Line-ups
Atalanta XI: Cuadrado, Toloi, De Roon, Djimsiti, Zappacosta, Kolasinac, Pasalic, Marco Carnesecchi, Mateo Retegui, Éderson, De Ketelaere
Subs: Patricio, Rossi, S.Posch, Bellanova, Lookman, Brescianini, Lazar Samardžić, Matteo Ruggeri, Vanja Vlahović, Ibrahim Sulemana, Marco Palestra, Federico Cassa
Club Brugge XI: Mignolet, Vanaken, Mechele, Ferran Jutglà, Maxim De Cuyper, Christos Tzolis, Ardon Jashari, Raphael Onyedika, Joel Ordóñez, Chemsdine Talbi, Joaquin Seys
Subs: Casper Nielsen, Nordin Jackers, Gustaf Nilsson, Hugo Vetlesen, Michal Skoras, Hugo Siquet, Zaid Romero, Romeo Vermant, Jorne Spileers, Kyriani Sabbe