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Champions League exits follow a head butt and a police raid in rough week for Italian soccer

Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez misses in the penalty shootout during the Champions League, round of 16, second leg soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Atletico Madrid won 3-2 in a penalty shootout. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
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Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez misses in the penalty shootout during the Champions League, round of 16, second leg soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Atletico Madrid won 3-2 in a penalty shootout. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Inter Milan's head coach Simone Inzaghi gestures during a penalty shootout at the end of the Champions League, round of 16, second leg soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Atletico Madrid won 3-2 in a penalty shootout. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
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Inter Milan's head coach Simone Inzaghi gestures during a penalty shootout at the end of the Champions League, round of 16, second leg soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Atletico Madrid won 3-2 in a penalty shootout. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Verona's Thomas Henry, in white, leaves the pitch after the Serie A soccer match between U.S. Lecce and Hellas Verona FC at Via del Mare Stadium, Lecce, Italy, Sunday March 10, 2024. Lecce coach Roberto D'Aversa, foreground center, head butted Hellas Verona striker Thomas Henry following a heated matchup between two teams just above the relegation zone in Serie A on Sunday. (Giovanni Evangelista/LaPresse via AP)
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Verona's Thomas Henry, in white, leaves the pitch after the Serie A soccer match between U.S. Lecce and Hellas Verona FC at Via del Mare Stadium, Lecce, Italy, Sunday March 10, 2024. Lecce coach Roberto D'Aversa, foreground center, head butted Hellas Verona striker Thomas Henry following a heated matchup between two teams just above the relegation zone in Serie A on Sunday. (Giovanni Evangelista/LaPresse via AP)

Atletico Madrid's Stefan Savic, left, fights for the ball with Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez during the Champions League, round of 16, second leg soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
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Atletico Madrid's Stefan Savic, left, fights for the ball with Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez during the Champions League, round of 16, second leg soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Inter Milan players stand together during a penalty shootout at the end of the Champions League, round of 16, second leg soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
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Inter Milan players stand together during a penalty shootout at the end of the Champions League, round of 16, second leg soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Napoli's Giovanni Di Lorenzo gestures as Barcelona players celebrate at the end of the Champions League, round of 16, second leg soccer match between Barcelona and SSC Napoli at the Olympic Lluis Companys stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, March 12, 2024. Barcelona won 3-1. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
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Napoli's Giovanni Di Lorenzo gestures as Barcelona players celebrate at the end of the Champions League, round of 16, second leg soccer match between Barcelona and SSC Napoli at the Olympic Lluis Companys stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, March 12, 2024. Barcelona won 3-1. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Verona's Thomas Henry, in white, leaves the pitch after the Serie A soccer match between U.S. Lecce and Hellas Verona FC at Via del Mare Stadium, Lecce, Italy, Sunday March 10, 2024. Lecce coach Roberto D'Aversa, foreground right, head butted Hellas Verona striker Thomas Henry following a heated matchup between two teams just above the relegation zone in Serie A on Sunday. (Giovanni Evangelista/LaPresse via AP)
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Verona's Thomas Henry, in white, leaves the pitch after the Serie A soccer match between U.S. Lecce and Hellas Verona FC at Via del Mare Stadium, Lecce, Italy, Sunday March 10, 2024. Lecce coach Roberto D'Aversa, foreground right, head butted Hellas Verona striker Thomas Henry following a heated matchup between two teams just above the relegation zone in Serie A on Sunday. (Giovanni Evangelista/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, center, and his teammates stand on the pitch after the Champions League, round of 16, second leg soccer match between FC Barcelona and SSC Napoli at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, March 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
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Napoli's Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, center, and his teammates stand on the pitch after the Champions League, round of 16, second leg soccer match between FC Barcelona and SSC Napoli at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, March 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Napoli's Jesper Lindstrom, right, reacts after a missed scoring opportunity during the Champions League, round of 16, second leg soccer match between Barcelona and SSC Napoli at the Olympic Lluis Companys stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, March 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
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Napoli's Jesper Lindstrom, right, reacts after a missed scoring opportunity during the Champions League, round of 16, second leg soccer match between Barcelona and SSC Napoli at the Olympic Lluis Companys stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, March 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Napoli's Victor Osimhen, left, controls the ball in front of Barcelona's Sergi Roberto during the Champions League, round of 16, second leg soccer match between Barcelona and SSC Napoli at the Olympic Lluis Companys stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, March 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
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Napoli's Victor Osimhen, left, controls the ball in front of Barcelona's Sergi Roberto during the Champions League, round of 16, second leg soccer match between Barcelona and SSC Napoli at the Olympic Lluis Companys stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, March 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

By ANDREW DAMPF

ROME (AP) -- It started with a head butt. A police raid at AC Milan followed. Then Serie A champion Napoli and last season's finalist Inter Milan were eliminated from the Champions League on consecutive nights.

It's been a rough week for Italian soccer.

A year after there was a Milan derby in the semifinals of Europe's top club competition and Inter gave Manchester City a serious challenge in the final, not one Italian club has advanced to the quarterfinals.

The same thing happened two seasons ago when Juventus was eliminated by Villarreal and Inter fell to Liverpool in the round of 16.

On Tuesday, Napoli was ousted by Barcelona on 4-2 aggregate. Then on Wednesday, Inter lost a penalty shootout to Atletico Madrid.

Also this month, Lazio lost to Bayern Munich on 3-1 aggregate.

Since neither Lazio, Napoli nor Inter lost the first leg, the final results stung even more.

Considering its perfect record in 2024, a big lead atop Serie A and its performance in Europe last season, Inter had the highest hopes for the Champions League.

But when it came down to Lautaro Martinez -- Inter's most prized and reliable forward -- to convert his spot kick and keep the shootout alive, the Argentina international blasted his shot high over the bar.

After his miss, Lautaro immediately turned around and glared at the spot as if something bothered him.

"The squad is not used to losing. The defeat burns, because we won the first leg," Inter coach Simone Inzaghi said. "The details make the difference and we missed three chances in extra time."

The losses also affect Italy's chances of earning a fifth team in next season's expanded Champions League. With the top two finishers to get an extra team in, Italy still leads this season's rankings but risks being passed by Germany and England, which qualified two teams each for the quarterfinals.

This week's Champions League games were preceded by the ugly scene of Lecce coach Roberto d'Aversa appearing to head butt Hellas Verona forward Thomas Henry after a match between two Serie A clubs fighting to avoid relegation on Sunday. D'Aversa was fired and banned for four matches -- a suspension he'll have to serve if he's hired by a new club.

On Tuesday, Milan's offices were raided by police as part of an investigation by Italian prosecutors into the sale of the seven-time European champion.

RedBird Capital Partners purchased Milan from fellow American firm Elliott Management in August 2022, but Milan prosecutors claim Elliott still owns and controls the Italian club. Both RedBird and Elliott claim the allegation is false.

Milan didn't advance out of the Champions League group phase, finishing behind Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain.

Juventus, meanwhile, was banned from Europe this season for breaking financial rules.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/Soccer


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