Atalanta Vs Dortmund: Late penalty sends Atalanta through after 4-1 win (4-3 agg)
Atalanta overturned a 2-0 first-leg deficit to beat Borussia Dortmund 4-1 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate, completing the comeback with a stoppage-time penalty. The atalanta vs dortmund tie was settled by a video-assisted referee intervention and a sending-off that handed the hosts a final chance, which Lazar Samardzic converted with the last kick of the game.
Atalanta Vs Dortmund: final seconds, VAR and the decisive penalty
The match was decided in the final moments when a cross, created after a mistake by visiting goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, led to a collision in the box. Ramy Bensebaini's studs caught Nikola Krstovic on the head as Krstovic stooped to meet the cross; Krstovic went down bleeding. After a VAR review, referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez was summoned to the pitch-side monitor, awarded a spot-kick and dismissed Bensebaini with a second yellow card. Lazar Samardzic kept his composure to convert the penalty with the last kick of the game — described in the context as both the third of three minutes of stoppage time and the 98th minute — sending Atalanta through 4-3 on aggregate.
Gianluca Scamacca and Davide Zappacosta give Atalanta an early platform
Atalanta began the comeback early. Gianluca Scamacca tapped in from a low cross on the fifth minute to get the hosts off to a dream start, and Davide Zappacosta added a second on the stroke of half-time when his shot from outside the box took a deflection and found the net. Those two first-half strikes erased the deficit created by the 2-0 first-leg defeat in Germany and levelled the tie on aggregate before the break.
Mario Pasalic header puts Atalanta ahead; Karim Adeyemi drags Dortmund back
Mario Pasalic extended Atalanta's lead with a header to make it 3-0 on the night in the 57th minute, moving the aggregate score to 3-2 in favour of the hosts. Dortmund responded after introducing substitute Karim Adeyemi, whose 75th-minute curling finish into the top corner levelled the aggregate at 3-3 and reopened the contest. The game featured a number of near-misses for the visitors earlier: Marco Carnesecchi made a key save to tip Serhou Guirassy's low drive wide in the 49th minute and Maximilian Beier struck the post in the 53rd minute.
Match officials and disciplinary action: Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez at centre of controversy
Referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez's intervention followed a VAR check that examined both the potential penalty and the disciplinary outcome. After reviewing the incident on the monitor, he awarded the decisive penalty and showed Bensebaini a second yellow, sending Dortmund down to 10 men at the crucial final moment. Sead Kolasinac described the emotions in the closing seconds as a "whirlwind", noting that many of Atalanta's usual penalty takers had been substituted and that Lazar Samardzic ultimately converted under immense pressure.
Wider Champions League night: Atalanta await Arsenal or Bayern; PSG and Galatasaray also progress
The victory sends Atalanta into the Champions League last 16, where they will face either Arsenal or Bayern Munich; the draw for the next round is scheduled for Friday. The match formed part of a dramatic night in the competition. Paris Saint-Germain reached the last 16 after a 2-2 draw with Monaco that produced a 5-4 aggregate scoreline; PSG had won the first leg 3-2 away. Maghnes Akliouche struck to put Monaco ahead on the night and level that tie, but Mamadou Coulibaly's second-half sending-off proved pivotal as Marquinhos and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored for PSG before Jordan Teze made it 2-2 late on. Désiré Doué, who had scored twice in the first leg, said the late moments felt "scary" and that the team must learn to avoid conceding. In another high-scoring tie, Galatasaray resisted a late fightback by a 10-man Juventus side and advanced 7-5 on aggregate, with Victor Osimhen scoring in extra time to help secure the Turkish club's progress.
Home fans in Bergamo celebrated wildly at the final whistle after witnessing what the match narrative described as an amazing display of desire and determination. Emre Can, the Dortmund captain, conceded that individual errors had cost his team, saying it would be difficult to progress when so many mistakes are made.
Highlights packages captured Atalanta hosting Dortmund while trailing 2-0 from the first leg, and the dramatic turnaround provided one of the night's most talked-about moments as the Italians advanced into the knock-out stage.
