Inter, Juventus, and Atalanta re giving Italy reason to dream in the Champions League.
This is the view in today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInterNews. They argue that only AC Milan have really disappointed in the competition thus far.
This season, there are five representatives from Serie A in the Champions League.
Inter, Juventus, Atalanta, AC Milan, and Bologna are all taking part in Europe’s top club competition.
And after two matchdays, a sense is starting to emerge of how the quintet will fare.
Inter have faced Manchester City and Red Star Belgrade. They managed to follow up a hard-fought draw away to heavy-hitters City with a routine win over Belgrade.
That has certainly seen Inter establish a real foothold in the competition.
The Nerazzurri reached the final of the Champions League two years ago. And they will feel that they have what it takes to go on a similar run this time around.
But it is not just Inter.
Inter, Juventus & Atalanta Give Serie A Reason To Dream In Champions League
Inter’s Derby d’Italia rivals Juventus have actually done one better than the Nerazzurri. They’ve won both their matches in the Champions League thus far.
Firstly, Juventus beat Dutch champions PSV in a fairly convincing display.
Then, the Bianconeri managed to come from a goal down, while a man down, against RB Leipzig.
There may have been some question marks about whether Thiago Motta can make Juventus into a force in Europe once again when the Champions League campaign began.
But there are a lot fewer of them now.
Meanwhile, Atalanta have had a similar start to the Champions League season to Inter.
La Dea got an impressive draw against Premier League juggernauts just as Inter had. They managed a goalless draw against Arsenal.
And then Atalanta put in a convincing performance against Shakhtar Donetsk in their second Champions League match. They got a 3-0 win to get their first win in the competition.
On the other hand, city rivals AC Milan have had a very rough start to the season in Europe.
The fixture list certainly hasn’t helped. Unlike Inter and Atalanta, the Rossoneri couldn’t cope with their first match against a Premier League side, falling to a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool.
Then, Milan faced German champions Bayer Leverkusen. The Bundesliga team won the match 1-0.
Finally, Bologna have had something of a mixed start to their long-awaited return to the big stage.
The Rossoblu will have rued some missed opportunities in a goalless opening day draw against Shakhtar Donestk, where they looked the better side on the night.
Then, Bologna had the tough task of facing Liverpool away.
The English team were perhaps able to rely on superior individual quality and European experience as they won the match.
However, in truth, Bologna looked much more able to cope with the Reds than Milan had.
