Atalanta's Last-Second Penalty Rescue Makes Them the Darlings of Italian Football

atalanta scored a dramatic last-second penalty to knock out Borussia Dortmund and, in the process, became Italy's only representative in the Champions League last 16 — a result that salvages national pride after a night of dramatic comebacks and costly errors across Europe.

Atalanta's dramatic night: five goals, a red card and a 98th-minute penalty

The tie swung wildly. Atalanta recovered from a 2-0 deficit from the first leg to win 4-1 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate. Gianluca Scamacca opened the scoring inside five minutes, Davide Zappacosta's shot was deflected by Ramy Bensebaini to make it 2-0 on the stroke of half-time, and Mario Pašalić headed a third to put the hosts in control.

Borussia Dortmund hit back when substitute Karim Adeyemi curled a 75th-minute strike into the top corner, appearing to force extra time. Late drama followed: Bensebaini was sent off after his studs caught the head of Nikola Krstović, who went down bleeding, and a lengthy VAR review produced a stoppage-time spot kick. Lazar Samardžić converted that penalty in the 98th minute — the final kick that sent atalanta through.

Key moments and individual contributions

• Marco Carnesecchi made a crucial save to stop Serhou Guirassy in the 49th minute.
• Maximilian Beier struck the post in the 53rd minute as Dortmund threatened a comeback.
• Gregor Kobel was busy in goal for Dortmund, twice denying Nicola Zalewski in the first half.
• Ramy Bensebaini received a red card after a high challenge on Nikola Krstović, which led to the decisive penalty following VAR review.

Voices from the match

Defender Davide Zappacosta said that everyone had written them off and highlighted the group's refusal to give up. Defender Sead Kolasinac described a "whirlwind of emotions" in the final seconds and noted that all the team's usual penalty takers had been substituted before Lazar Samardžić stepped up and converted brilliantly. Dortmund captain Emre Can reflected that persistent individual errors made progression difficult for his side.

What Atalanta's progress means for Italian football

Their success prevents a Champions League last 16 without any Italian clubs — an outcome that looked possible after last year's finalists Inter Milan were knocked out by Bodo/Glimt. Juventus also came up short despite an impressive fightback against Galatasaray; Juventus had been three down after their first-leg ties and ultimately failed to progress. The presence of atalanta in the last 16 keeps alive a run that dates back to the reintroduction of the last-16 knockout round in 2003-04, when there has always been at least one Italian representative. It has not been the case since 1987-88 — when Napoli went out to Real Madrid in the first round of the European Cup — that Serie A had no teams in this stage.

Some commentators branded Inter's exit a historic low point for the country's clubs, with one commentator calling the situation "a piece of history" and another describing the prospect of all three sides failing to make the knockouts as a "complete debacle, a disaster for our clubs. " Former Premier League defender Curtis Davies labelled Atalanta the darlings of Italian football, while analyst James Horncastle compared them to Bodo/Glimt and noted their rise from a yo-yo club about eight years ago to a team that has won a European trophy, reached three Coppa Italia finals and established itself in the Champions League.

Other Champions League drama on the night

Paris Saint-Germain edged Monaco through to the last 16 after a 2-2 draw that produced a 5-4 aggregate result; PSG had won the first leg 3-2 away. Maghnes Akliouche scored to level the tie on the night, a second-half sending-off for Mamadou Coulibaly proved pivotal, and Marquinhos and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia struck for PSG before Jordan Teze made it 2-2 late. A player named Désiré Doué described the stress after conceding and emphasized the objective to dominate while also being able to come back from behind.

Galatasaray fended off a rousing fightback by a 10-man Juventus side as Victor Osimhen struck in extra time to help earn the Turkish side a 7-5 aggregate victory.

What's next and unresolved text

Atalanta will now face either Arsenal or Bayern Munich in the round of 16, with the draw scheduled for Friday. The fragment "Trai" appears at the end of one match report and is unclear in the provided context.