Atalanta have been drawn against Bayern Munich in the Champions League’s Round of 16. La Dea will host the Bavarians on the 10th of March before the second leg takes place at the Allianz Arena the following week.
After dispatching one German giant, the challenge only gets greater for Italy’s sole surviving side in Europe’s premier competition. The record 34-time Bundesliga champions await Atalanta following their astounding 4-3 aggregate win over Borussia Dortmund.
Despite the pedigree of their latest opponents, Raffaele Palladino’s outfit will relish their underdog status, as well as the chance to try and match previous achievements.
The Lombardy side first played in the Champions League in 2019 and have reached the last 16 twice before, with their best run being to the quarter-finals on their tournament debut.
While they did win the Europa League in 2024, their past two Champions League appearances have seen them fail to make the knockouts. Is the currently seventh-placed Serie A side on the brink of a new European dawn?
An inspired performance at the New Balance Arena saw Dortmund’s initial 2-0 lead eventually overturned by the Black and Blues in a back-and-forth tie. Such was the battleground nature of game, coach Palladino even brandishing penalty-winner Nikola Krstovic’s bloodied bandage as a badge of honour.
In an emotional post-match interview, Palladino told Sky Sport Italia: “This is a match that will go down in history, not just here in Bergamo for all the Atalanta fans, but for Italian football as a whole.
“We achieved a comeback that will stay in the history books. We’re so happy, I want to thank every single player, those who were on the field, on the bench, in the stands, my staff, the President Antonio Percassi, the directors, and all the fans.
“It was probably the best game I ever experienced in my coaching career, and it will remain in my mind forever. This club deserves this incredible satisfaction.”
Even in the face of this season’s romantic narrative, the task at hand won’t be lost on Atalanta. Six-time European champions Bayern Munich cruised to second in the League Phase table after seven wins and just the one defeat, which came at the hands of table-toppers Arsenal.
Harry Kane notably registered eight goals in as many outings, amongst a campaign that saw Die Roten notch 22 goals. That’s four fewer than the competition leaders in this regard, Newcastle, in two fewer games.
This season, Bayern notably thrashed Pafos 5-1 away, and Club Brugge 4-0 at home. November also saw them admirably beat PSG 2-1 in Paris with 10 men, before further convincing victories followed against Sporting (3-1), Union Saint-Gilloise (2-0), and a PSV side that had dispatched Napoli 6-2 (2-1, away).
This will be the first time that these two sides meet in Europe, and it could be a real showpiece. With their win against Dortmund, Atalanta became the first side to overturn a two-goal first-leg deficit in a Champions League knockout tie since Liverpool progressed past Barcelona in the 2018-19 semi-final.
We all know how that edition ended, and it’s no doubt that La Dea (The Goddess) will be praying to a higher power that the UCL magic continues.
Friday’s draw also mapped out any potential path for the rest of the tournament. Both the Bergamo and Munich men were placed in the silver half of the bracket and would meet the winners of the heavyweight clash between Real Madrid and Manchester City in the quarter-finals. In the semis, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Liverpool or Galatasaray would await.
The finalists from the blue half will come from Arsenal, Leverkusen, FK Bodo/Glimt, Sporting Lisbon, Atletico Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and FC Barcelona.
While all of the exact dates for the knockout phase fixtures are yet to be confirmed, here’s how the calendar is shaping up for now.
Last 16: 10-11 and 17-18 March
Quarter-finals: 7-8 and 14-15 April
Semi-finals: 28-29 April and 5-6 May
Final: 30 May
