Three clubs out

Champions League: “Disaster” for top nation

Juventus are out - defender Nicolo Savona (left) can't believe it. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (right) comes in for criticism after Milan's elimination.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA/AFP/NICOLAS TUCAT, APA/Getty Images via AFP/GETTY IMAGES/Jim McIsaac)

A top nation is down and out! With Atalanta Bergamo, AC Milan and Juventus Turin, three Serie A teams failed in the Champions League play-off. A "disaster" for the football-mad Italians.

After Milan (against Feyenoord) and Atalanta (against Bruges) were knocked out of the "premier class" on Tuesday, Juventus Turin also bowed out of the Champions League on Wednesday. In Eindhoven, the game went into extra time after goals from Ivan Perisic (53), Ismael Saibari (74) and Timothy Weah (63). PSV came out on top against Juventus thanks to Ryan Flamingo (98).

There is huge disappointment in Italy. The "Gazzetta dello Sport" wrote of "a catastrophe". For the Spanish newspaper "Mundo Deportivo", the Juve fiasco was the "Italian disaster".

Meanwhile, Milan's star advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic came under heavy criticism for his recent personnel decisions. "Zlatan Ibrahimovic failed the first real test of his life as a manager," was the verdict of La Repubblica following Milan's bitter exit.

Only Inter still in the mix
Italy's hopes now rest on Milan's city rivals Inter. The club of Austrian international Marko Arnautovic is the only Serie A club still in the competition.