Atalanta Vs Dortmund: Atalanta 4-1 Borussia Dortmund (4-3 agg)

atalanta vs dortmund ended in dramatic fashion as Atalanta scored a stoppage-time penalty to complete a 4-1 victory and a 4-3 aggregate comeback after losing the first leg 2-0. The Italians sealed progression to the Champions League last 16 with the decisive spot-kick converted with the final kick of the game.

Atalanta Vs Dortmund: late penalty

Atalanta trailed after a 2-0 first-leg defeat in Germany but took the initiative early in the return tie. Lorenzo Bernasconi supplied a low cross in the fifth minute and former West Ham forward Gianluca Scamacca was on hand to tap in, giving the hosts an immediate lifeline.

First-half goals and momentum

Davide Zappacosta added a second on the stroke of half-time when his shot from outside the box took a deflection on its way into the net, levelling the tie on aggregate after the opening 2-0 loss. Marco Carnesecchi then made a pivotal intervention, tipping Serhou Guirassy’s low drive wide in the 49th minute to preserve Atalanta’s advantage.

Pasalic, Adeyemi and the fightback

Mario Pasalic headed home at the far post to make it 3-0 for the hosts in the 57th minute. Dortmund responded after introducing Karim Adeyemi as a substitute; Adeyemi curled a 75th-minute strike into the top corner to reduce the deficit and level the overall tie at 3-3, pushing the contest towards extra time.

VAR check, sending-off and penalty

With extra time looming, Gregor Kobel failed to clear and gifted Atalanta an attacking opportunity that led to the decisive incident. Ramy Bensebaini attempted to clear a cross with a backward flick and caught Nikola Krstovic on the head with a reckless high boot; Krstovic went down bleeding. A VAR review for a penalty and a possible red card followed, and referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez was summoned to the screen before awarding the spot-kick and dismissing Bensebaini with a second yellow card.

Samardzic keeps cool

Lazar Samardzic kept his composure to convert the injury-time penalty, sending the ball into the roof of the net with the last kick of the game and sending Atalanta into the last 16 with a 4-3 aggregate victory. Home fans celebrated wildly at the final whistle after what was described as an amazing display of desire and determination.

Reactions and reflections

Atalanta defender Sead Kolasinac said he experienced "a whirlwind of emotions" in the final seconds and added that when the referee awarded the penalty he did not know who would take it because all their penalty takers had been substituted, but that Lazar converted brilliantly. Dortmund captain Emre Can reflected on his side’s elimination, 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 match details noted during the tie include Maximilian Beier’s effort that bounced off the post in the 53rd minute as Dortmund pressed, and the fact that the decisive penalty came in the third of three minutes of stoppage time. The match saw vital individual interventions from both keepers: Marco Carnesecchi’s 49th-minute tip and Gregor Kobel’s busy first half, where he twice denied Nicola Zalewski.

Atalanta will now face either Arsenal or Bayern Munich in the Champions League round of 16, with the draw scheduled for Friday. The comeback followed Atalanta’s 2-0 defeat in the first leg the previous week.

Wider Champions League roundup

Elsewhere in the competition, Paris Saint-Germain, the holders, reached the last 16 after a 2-2 draw that produced a 5-4 aggregate win. PSG had won the first leg 3-2 away the previous week; Maghnes Akliouche scored to give Monaco the lead on the night and level the tie on aggregate before Mamadou Coulibaly’s second-half sending-off for Monaco preceded goals from Marquinhos and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for PSG. Jordan Teze later 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. "

Galatasaray also progressed by fending off a fightback from 10-man Juventus, with Victor Osimhen scoring in extra time to help the Turkish side to a 7-5 aggregate victory.

Summary: atalanta vs dortmund produced one of the competition’s most dramatic nights — a 4-1 home win, a late red card for Ramy Bensebaini, a VAR-reviewed penalty and Lazar Samardzic’s last-kick conversion that sent Atalanta through 4-3 on aggregate.