SUPER Eagles of Nigeria forward Ademola Lookman was one of the standout players on Tuesday night as Atalanta defeated Chelsea 2-1 in their UEFA Champions League clash in Italy.
Although Lookman did not score in the key win, the Nigeria international was involved in some of the best moves and came close multiple times.
Chelsea’s hopes of qualifying automatically for the knockout rounds were dealt a blow as Atalanta came from behind to win in Bergamo.
Both sides went into the game with identical records in the league phase of this year’s tournament, having won three, drawn one and lost one to sit on 10 points.
For large parts there was little to separate them in this game, too, although Chelsea got their noses in front in the first half when Joao Pedro turned in Reece James’ cross.
But Atalanta always looked a threat going forwards, with former Charlton and Everton attacker Lookman causing problems.
James shot wide in the second half but Atalanta upped the pressure and deservedly levelled when ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca headed in a cross.
Alejandro Garnacho drove a strong effort straight at the goalkeeper but Atalanta got the winner late on when the Blues defence backed off Charles de Ketelaere, who took full advantage with a driven strike.
Chelsea tried to rescue a point late on but a superb save by Marco Carnesecchi denied Pedro.
Lookman was a thorn in Chelsea’s side, bursting into the box and testing Robert Sanchez at the near post, before forcing Josh Acheampong into a decisive block six yards out.
Lookman then thought he had scored the equaliser on a Marten de Roon assist while Atalanta were still trailing, but he was in an offside position.
The result means Chelsea drop out of the top eight – the places that qualify automatically for the knockouts – to 11th with two league phase games remaining.
Atalanta, meanwhile, leap up to third, three points ahead of the Blues.
At San Siro, Dominik Szoboszlai’s 88th-minute penalty gave Liverpool a crucial win against Inter Milan in the Champions League.
Much of the build-up to the clash was dominated by the exclusion of Mohamed Salah from the Reds squad after he claimed the club had “thrown him under the bus” and his relationship with manager Arne Slot had broken down.
And with the Egypt forward left back in Liverpool, Szoboszlai stepped up to take the decisive late spot-kick after Alessandro Bastoni was adjudged, following a video assistant referee (VAR) check, to have tugged at the shirt of Florian Wirtz in the box.
Inter keeper Yann Sommer dived the right way, but the power of the penalty proved too much and Liverpool held on for a welcome three points after a turbulent few days at the club.
After a worrying run of nine defeats in 12 games, Slot’s side are now unbeaten in four.
The Reds have 12 points from their six Champions League ties and victory propelled them into the top eight of the league phase, where automatic qualification to the last 16 is guaranteed.
Inter dropped down to fifth, on the same points tally, as they suffered a first home defeat in 19 matches in the competition – since September 2022 against Bayern Munich.
Liverpool thought they had taken a 32nd-minute lead when Ibrahima Konate headed in from a corner.
But referee Felix Zwayer disallowed the goal after a lengthy VAR check as the ball struck the arm of striker Hugo Ekitike before the ball found Konate to nod in from close range.
Curtis Jones, Szoboszlai and Ekitike all forced Sommer to make saves in an opening half where Inter lost Piotr Zielinski and Yann Aurel Bisseck to injuries.
The disallowed goal seemed to spark the hosts and Nicolo Barella came close as his free-kick went narrowly wide, before Lautaro Martinez’s header was kept out by Alisson Becker.
The game looked to be heading towards a goalless draw which would have been a first under Slot’s tenure, but Wirtz – who replaced Alexander Isak in the 68th minute – made the most of Bastoni’s pull.
Szoboszlai’s calm finish for his second goal in successive games ensured that, for the fourth time in four years, Liverpool would be leaving the San Siro with success.
In other results on the night, Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen could not prevent Galatasaray from going down 1-0 at Monaco, while Barcelona came from behind at home to beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1
RESULTS
Atalanta 2-1 Chelsea
Barcelona 2-1 Frankfurt
Inter Milan 0-1 Liverpool
Monaco 1-0 Galatasaray
PSV 2-3 Atletico Madrid
Union SG 2-3 Marseille
Tottenham 3-0 Slavia Praha
With agency reports