Atalanta 4-1 Dortmund (4-3 agg): Late penalty sends Italians into Champions League last 16
Atalanta scored a dramatic stoppage-time penalty to complete a comeback and knock Borussia Dortmund out of the Champions League, winning 4-1 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate. The decisive spot-kick, converted with the last kick of the game by Lazar Samardzic, completed an extraordinary turnaround after Atalanta had lost the first leg 2-0 in Germany.
Atalanta fightback puts tie level before late drama
Needing an early goal to have any chance of overturning the deficit, Atalanta took the lead in the fifth minute when Lorenzo Bernasconi supplied a low cross from the left and former West Ham forward Gianluca Scamacca tapped 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 off Ramy Bensebaini on its way into the net, leveling the tie on aggregate.
Pasalic, Adeyemi and the opening of the tie
Mario Pasalic extended Atalanta's advantage with a header that made it 3-0 on aggregate in the 57th minute. Dortmund responded after introducing Karim Adeyemi from the bench; Adeyemi curled a 75th-minute strike into the top corner to bring the aggregate score level at 3-3 and push the tie toward extra time.
Penalty, red card and the final turn of events
With extra time looming, a chaotic finale produced the decisive moment. Visiting keeper Gregor Kobel failed to clear and gifted Atalanta an attacking opportunity. As Nikola Krstovic stooped to meet the cross, Ramy Bensebaini flicked out a leg backwards and caught Krstovic on the head; Krstovic went down bleeding. After a video assistant referee check for a penalty and a possible red card, referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez reviewed play on the sideline monitor and awarded a spot-kick while dismissing Bensebaini with a second yellow card. Lazar Samardzic then kept his composure to send the ball into the roof of the net with the final kick, confirming Atalanta's progression 4-3 on aggregate.
Key moments and individual interventions
- Scamacca and Zappacosta scored in the first half to overhaul the two-goal deficit from the first leg.
- Mario Pasalic's header put Atalanta 3-0 on aggregate before Karim Adeyemi's 75th-minute curling strike leveled the tie.
- Marco Carnesecchi made a crucial save when he tipped Serhou Guirassy's low drive wide in the 49th minute, and Maximilian Beier struck the post for Dortmund in the 53rd minute.
- Ramy Bensebaini was dismissed for a second yellow after the VAR review that led to the late penalty.
Aftermath and what comes next for Atalanta
Home fans celebrated wildly at the final whistle after witnessing a display of determination that completed the comeback. Atalanta advance to the Champions League last 16 and will face either Arsenal or Bayern Munich, with the round-of-16 draw scheduled for Friday. The comeback followed Atalanta's 2-0 loss in the first leg in Germany and completed on Wednesday with Samardzic's stoppage-time penalty.
Wider Champions League context from the same round
Other knockout ties produced dramatic endings. Paris Saint-Germain edged out 10-man Monaco to reach the last 16 after a 2-2 draw on the night gave them a 5-4 aggregate victory; Maghnes Akliouche had given Monaco the lead on the night, Mamadou Coulibaly was sent off in the second half, and Marquinhos and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored for PSG before Jordan Teze made it 2-2 late on. A player involved in that tie said the team felt stressed when the opposition scored and emphasized the objective of dominating matches while trying not to concede.
In another dramatic encounter, Galatasaray fended off a fightback from 10-man Juventus as Victor Osimhen struck in extra time to help the Turkish side to a 7-5 aggregate victory.
Recent highlights packages framed the Atalanta–Dortmund game as a night of drama, noting the hosts had come into the second leg trailing 2-0 from the first-leg play-off.
