Italian football endured its bleakest European night of the season as Napoli, Inter, Como and Roma were all beaten in the same Champions League round. It was an unprecedented clean sweep of defeats for the Italian contingent, with the scale of the damage made clear by 14 goals conceded.
The four sides still scored nine times between them, but that attacking return could not cover a series of collapses. Napoli, Como and Roma each took the lead before losing, while Inter were drawn into a seven-goal defeat against Club Brugge.
Quick facts
- All four Italian clubs lost in the same Champions League matchday for the first time.
- Italian teams conceded 14 goals and scored nine.
- Napoli lost 3-1 at Villarreal after going ahead.
- Inter were beaten 4-3 by Club Brugge, their second Champions League loss.
- Como fell 3-2 at Feyenoord despite leading in Rotterdam.
- Roma lost 4-3 to Real Madrid after conceding three times in eight minutes.
Napoli’s 3-1 loss at Villarreal offered the first warning. The Spanish side found a route back through a defensive mistake, then turned the match decisively in their favour after Napoli had been ahead.
Allegri pointed to the different demands imposed by the competition. “The Champions League level is higher,” he said after the match. “You may not notice it against smaller or mid-level opponents, but in this competition you do.”
Inter’s evening at Club Brugge was no less punishing. Their 4-3 defeat brought a second loss in the tournament, with the scoreline underlining how little margin remained once the game opened up.
Como also let a promising position slip away in Rotterdam. They led Feyenoord but were overtaken in a 3-2 defeat, another match in which an Italian team’s early advantage did not survive the full ninety minutes.
Roma’s loss was the most painful for its late swing. Against José Mourinho’s former club, the Giallorossi were on course for victory until Real Madrid equalised for 3-3 in the 85th minute and then struck again in the 90th.
Roma conceded three goals in eight minutes, completing a round that exposed a shared problem rather than a single bad result. Across four matches, Italian clubs were unable to protect leads or contain decisive late pressure, leaving the road through Europe considerably darker.
