Atalanta saved italy football

Italian football was staring into the abyss — and then stepped up.

After shock exits for and a looming collapse for , Serie A faced the unthinkable: no team in the last 16 of the for the first time in nearly four decades.

But Atalanta ripped up the script.

Trailing 2-0 from the first leg, they stormed back with three goals in 57 minutes and sealed it with a nerve-shredding last-gasp penalty to dump out . Extra time was looming — then history changed.

“Everyone wrote us off,” said defender Davide Zappacosta.
They didn’t just survive — they became Italy’s last hope.

Now dubbed “the darlings of Italian football,” Atalanta march on alone, carrying national pride into the knockout rounds… with Arsenal or Bayern Munich waiting next.

From near national humiliation to heroic rescue mission — Atalanta saved Italy when it mattered most. 🇮🇹🔥