Atalanta 4-1 Borussia Dortmund (4-3 agg): atalanta overturn two-goal deficit to reach last 16
atalanta completed a remarkable comeback against Borussia Dortmund, winning 4-1 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate after a stoppage-time penalty. Lazar Samardzic converted with the final kick after a VAR review and a red-card dismissal handed to Ramy Bensebaini.
Atalanta late penalty seals tie
The tie was decided in the third of three minutes of stoppage time when a cross led to a chaotic penalty incident. Ramy Bensebaini caught Nikola Krstovic on the head in the box, with descriptions in the match record saying his studs caught the head and that he had attempted a backheel or a high boot as Krstovic stooped to meet the cross and went down bleeding. Visiting keeper Gregor Kobel had failed to clear, gifting the attacking chance. After a VAR check for a penalty and a possible red card, referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez was summoned to the screen and then awarded the spot-kick and dismissed Bensebaini with a second yellow card. Lazar Samardzic kept his nerve, sending the ball into the roof of the net with the last kick of the game to send the hosts through 4-3 on aggregate; another account records the penalty as coming in the 98th minute.
How the goals unfolded
The hosts had been forced to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit from Germany. Atalanta needed an early goal and got one in the fifth minute when Lorenzo Bernasconi sent a low cross in from the left and former West Ham forward Gianluca Scamacca was in the perfect place to tap in at the far post. Davide Zappacosta added a second on the stroke of half-time when his shot from outside the box took a deflection into the net, making it 2-0 on the night and levelling the tie on aggregate after the away defeat.
Mario Pasalic headed home at the far post in the 57th minute to make it 3-0 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate. Dortmund fought back after introducing substitute Karim Adeyemi, whose curling, 75th-minute strike — described as a top-corner curl — made it 3-3 on aggregate and looked to have taken the game toward extra time.
The VAR check and red card
The decisive review followed the mistake by Kobel and the flicked leg by Bensebaini. The video assistant referee intervened to check the challenge for a penalty and a potential red card. Referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez reviewed the incident on the pitchside monitor before awarding the penalty and showing Bensebaini a second yellow card, ending Dortmund with ten men.
Reactions and match moments
Home fans celebrated wildly at the final whistle after witnessing the late drama. Defender Sead Kolasinac said he went through "a whirlwind of emotions" in the final seconds and that, when the referee awarded the penalty, he did not know who would take it because all the usual penalty takers had been substituted, but that Lazar converted brilliantly. Dortmund captain Emre Can reflected on his side's errors, saying: "If you make so many individual errors, it’s going to be difficult to progress... we were very unlucky, but to be honest we didn’t deserve to advance. "
Other notable moments included Atalanta keeper Marco Carnesecchi making a key save to tip Serhou Guirassy's low drive wide in the 49th minute and Maximilian Beier seeing a 53rd-minute shot bounce off the post, while Gregor Kobel was busy in the first half and twice denied Nicola Zalewski.
Other Champions League results
Elsewhere, Paris Saint-Germain edged out 10-man Monaco to reach the last 16 after a 2-2 draw that produced a 5-4 aggregate win. PSG had won 3-2 away in the first leg, but Maghnes Akliouche scored to give Monaco the lead on the night and level the tie on aggregate. Mamadou Coulibaly's second-half sending-off for Monaco proved the catalyst for Marquinhos and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to score for PSG, although Jordan Teze made it 2-2 late on. Désiré Doué, who had scored twice for PSG in the first leg, said, "At the end, when they scored, we felt stressed and it was scary, " and added that the objective is to dominate but also to know how to come back from behind and to try not to concede next time.
Galatasaray also progressed, fending off a rousing fightback by 10-man Juventus as Victor Osimhen struck in extra time to help the Turkish side to a 7-5 aggregate victory.
Atalanta will now face either Arsenal or Bayern Munich in the round of 16, with the draw scheduled for Friday.
