Atalanta: 'Darlings of Italian football' — how they salvaged national pride with a dramatic late penalty
Atalanta produced a dramatic stoppage-time penalty to beat Borussia Dortmund and secure Italy a place in the Champions League last 16. The result saw atalanta overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit to win 4-3 on aggregate after a 4-1 home victory, preventing the last 16 from containing no Serie A clubs for the first time since 1987-88.
Atalanta's dramatic penalty and late turnaround
Trailing 2-0 from the first leg in Germany, Atalanta surged to a 4-1 win on the night and a 4-3 aggregate triumph. Gianluca Scamacca opened the scoring in the fifth minute with a tap-in at the far post, Davide Zappacosta’s shot was deflected in off Ramy Bensebaini on the stroke of half-time to make it 2-0, and Mario Pasalic headed home to extend the lead. Dortmund replied through Karim Adeyemi’s 75th-minute curling strike, which looked to have forced extra time, but a lengthy VAR review in stoppage time produced a penalty that Lazar Samardzic slotted in the 98th minute to send the Italians through.
Borussia Dortmund's red card and the Nikola Krstovic collision
Dortmund’s Ramy Bensebaini was sent off after his studs caught the head of Nikola Krstovic in the penalty area; Krstovic went down bleeding. The incident prompted the VAR check and the referee awarded a spot kick, a decision that directly produced the 98th-minute finish by Samardzic. The dismissal was the decisive official action that changed the match’s outcome.
Key match moments: Scamacca, Zappacosta, Pasalic, Carnesecchi and Adeyemi
The game featured several concrete turning points. Gianluca Scamacca’s early tap-in gave Atalanta a fifth-minute lead. Gregor Kobel was heavily involved for Dortmund, twice denying Nicola Zalewski in the first half and making key saves, but he was beaten by Zappacosta’s deflected effort at half-time. Atalanta keeper Marco Carnesecchi produced a crucial save on Serhou Guirassy’s low drive in the 49th minute, Maximilian Beier hit the post in the 53rd, and Mario Pasalic’s headed goal put Atalanta 3-0 up. Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi reduced the deficit in the 75th minute with a top-corner effort before the red card and penalty overturned the tie.
Serie A's last-16 survival and wider reaction
The outcome ensured that Italy retained a representative in the Champions League last 16; Atalanta are now the country’s only club still in the competition. The timing matters because, after Inter Milan — last season’s finalists — were knocked out by Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday, and with Juventus already three goals down after their first-leg tie, there had been a real prospect of a last-16 without any Italian sides. That scenario would have been the first since 1987-88, when Napoli went out to Real Madrid in the European Cup. Journalists and pundits reacted strongly: Vincenzo Credendino called Inter’s exit "a piece of history" in a negative sense and Daniele Verri warned that all three sides failing would have been a "complete debacle" for Italian clubs. Defender Davide Zappacosta said, "Everyone had written us off... this match showed once again how strong this group is - we always believe and we never give up. " Former player Curtis Davies described the club as "the darlings of Italian football, " and European expert James Horncastle observed that Atalanta have transformed from a yo-yo club into a side that has won a European trophy and reached three Coppa Italia finals.
Champions League night: PSG, Monaco, Juventus and Galatasaray
Atalanta’s night was one of several dramatic ties. Paris Saint-Germain advanced after a 2-2 draw with Monaco that produced a 5-4 aggregate victory; PSG had won the first leg 3-2, Maghnes Akliouche scored for Monaco on the night, Mamadou Coulibaly of Monaco was sent off in the second half, and Marquinhos plus Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored to put PSG ahead before Jordan Teze levelled late on. Juventus staged a fightback but ultimately came up short: Galatasaray held on and Victor Osimhen’s extra-time strike helped the Turkish side win 7-5 on aggregate. Emre Can, Dortmund’s captain, reflected on his team’s mistakes, saying that making many individual errors makes progressing difficult; Sead Kolasinac described a "whirlwind of emotions" in the final seconds and noted that their usual penalty takers had been substituted before Samardzic converted.
Atalanta will now meet either Arsenal or Bayern Munich in the Champions League round of 16, with the draw scheduled for Friday. What makes this notable is that a single late intervention — the red card and subsequent penalty — not only decided one tie but also preserved Serie A’s uninterrupted presence in the last-16 knockout round since its reintroduction in 2003-04.
