Atalanta Vs Dortmund — atalanta vs dortmund ends with last‑gasp penalty and 4-1 victory (4-3 agg)
In a dramatic turnaround, atalanta vs dortmund finished with Atalanta winning 4-1 at home to overturn a 2-0 first‑leg deficit and progress to the Champions League last 16. The outcome matters now because the tie winner will go on to face either Arsenal or Bayern Munich in the next round.
Atalanta produce comeback to reach last 16 after stoppage‑time penalty
Atalanta scored a dramatic penalty with the last kick of the game to complete a 4-1 victory that made it 4-3 on aggregate and sealed progression to the last 16. The hosts had been staring at an uphill task after losing the first leg 2-0 in Germany but found their way back in the return fixture.
Goals and timing: Scamacca, Zappacosta, Pasalic, Adeyemi and the decisive spot‑kick
Gianluca Scamacca and Davide Zappacosta put Atalanta level on aggregate with two first‑half goals, and Mario Pasalic pushed the hosts 3-0 ahead with a strike in the 57th minute. Karim Adeyemi curled in a goal that looked to have taken the game into extra time by pulling Dortmund back into contention overall, before the late incident won the tie for Atalanta.
Foul, VAR check and dismissal: how the penalty was awarded
With seconds left in stoppage time, Ramy Bensebaini caught Nikola Krstovic on the head in the box with a high, reckless boot as Krstovic tried to meet a cross following a mistake by visiting keeper Gregor Kobel. The incident prompted a video assistant referee review for a penalty and a possible red card. Referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez went to the pitch‑side screen, awarded the spot‑kick and dismissed Bensebaini with a second yellow card.
Lazar Samardzic keeps his nerve from the spot and Atalanta progress
Lazar Samardzic converted the match‑deciding penalty, sending the ball into the roof of the net to send Atalanta into the last 16. The match narrative turned on that single late intervention: Atalanta staged an incredible fightback, while Borussia Dortmund thought they had forced extra time before the final review.
Form, precedents and the rarity of the comeback
Atalanta had been eliminated from each of their last four major European knockout‑stage ties when losing the first leg, and their 2-0 first‑leg defeat to Dortmund was the first time they had ever lost a first leg by more than one goal. Turning around a deficit of two or more goals in a Champions League knockout tie is rare: before this season there were 126 occasions of a team losing the first leg by two or more goals, and only 15 had gone on to progress, most recently Liverpool against Barcelona in the 2018-19 semi‑final.
Background build‑up, domestic form and the run into the tie
Preview material written by Jonathan O'Shea on 23 Feb 2026 15: 22 ET and last updated on 25 Feb 2026 13: 52 ET noted Atalanta BC were trailing by two goals after the first leg but had earned home advantage by finishing two points and two places better than Borussia Dortmund in the league phase. That build‑up also recorded Atalanta's strong February: Raffaele Palladino's side booked a place in the Coppa Italia semi‑finals, climbed the Serie A standings and remained undefeated in domestic fixtures that calendar year with eight wins and two draws. Two second‑half headers, from Mario Pasalic and Lazar Samardzic, had beaten Napoli to topple the Scudetto holders before the return leg.
Dortmund’s record, recent form and European pedigree
Dortmund went into the tie as favourites in part because the winner would meet either Arsenal or Bayern Munich, and because they have a strong knockout history: they have progressed from seven of their nine Champions League knockout ties when winning the first leg, and to date BVB have won all 10 UEFA ties in which they held a two‑goal lead from the first leg. Those who had previously eliminated Dortmund after a first‑leg win had only done so when Dortmund had won the first leg by a single goal (versus PSG in 2019-20 and Chelsea in 2022-23).
Additional trends and match metrics
Before the second leg, Atalanta had taken just seven shots in their 2-0 first‑leg defeat — only once had they taken fewer in 42 previous Champions League matches (two shots against Real Madrid in February 2021). Dortmund had won just one of their last eight away games against Italian sides in all competitions (D2 L5), that victory coming at Milan by 3-1 in the 2023-24 Champions League group stage. Dortmund had also won only one of their last five away Champions League games, conceding four goals in three of those fixtures, and in the current season they had twice conceded four goals in Champions League away games, against Manchester City and Juventus.
Match data and fan metrics
After the opportunity to rate players closed, the score displayed for player ratings represented the average from all user submissions. Match momentum is measured as the swing of the match by comparing each team's threat to see who is more likely to score within that minute; the momentum value is the difference between each team's most dangerous moment, or team threat, in that minute.
