The level of the opponents could have certainly allowed AC Milan and Atalanta to return to Italy with broad smiles on their faces, but the two Lombard teams decided to make things a bit more complicated for themselves ahead of the return legs.
The Rossoneri and the Bergamo-based clubs, in fact, lost away to Feyenoord and Club Brugge, respectively. Atalanta's defeat in Belgium, however, was influenced by a highly questionable penalty awarded to the home side.
Il Corriere della Sera headlined this morning about a disappointing Champions League Wednesday for the Italian teams, writing on its front page:
"Milan ugly and beaten. Atalanta also loses."
The newspaper focused its disappointment primarily on the Rossoneri, who had raised significant expectations following the transfer market.
