Atalanta: atalanta score dramatic late penalty to knock out Dortmund
Atalanta completed a dramatic comeback to beat Borussia Dortmund and secure Italy’s lone place in the Champions League last 16, capped by a stoppage-time penalty. The match ended 4-1 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate after Lazar Samardzic converted with the final kick.
Fast start and control
The hosts overturned a 2-0 deficit from the first leg when Gianluca Scamacca tapped in in the fifth minute. Davide Zappacosta then scored on the stroke of half-time when his shot was deflected in off Ramy Bensebaini, making it 2-0 on the night. Marco Carnesecchi made a key save in the 49th minute when he tipped Serhou Guirassy’s low drive wide, and Mario Pašalić headed in the third at the far post in the 57th minute, giving Atalanta a three-goal cushion on the night and the lead on aggregate.
Karim Adeyemi reply
Dortmund pushed back after Mario Pašalić’s header, with substitute Karim Adeyemi curling a 75th-minute effort into the top corner to bring the visitors back into the tie and threaten extra time. Dortmund had won the first leg 2-0 in Germany, and the aggregate stood level after Adeyemi’s strike.
VAR and red cards
Late drama followed a cross that was about to reach Nikola Krstovic for a simple header into an empty net when, after a mistake by goalkeeper Gregor Kobel and a subsequent scramble, Ramy Bensebaini (also spelled Remy Bensabaini in one account) attempted to clear with a backheel and caught Krstovic on the head, leaving him bleeding. A corner was initially given but, after a VAR review, a penalty was awarded in stoppage time. The VAR sequence also produced two red cards: Bensebaini received a second yellow for the foul and an unused Dortmund substitute, Nico Schlotterbeck, was shown a red card on the bench for protesting.
Stoppage-time drama and celebration
Lazar Samardzic slotted the penalty in the eighth minute of stoppage time — the 98th minute in one timeline — sending Atalanta through with the last kick of the game. The referee blew for full time before Dortmund could restart, and scenes of celebration followed inside the stadium in Bergamo. Sead Kolasinac described going through “a whirlwind of emotions” and added: “When the referee decided for a penalty, I didn’t know who would take it. All our penalty takers had been substituted, but luckily Lazar converted brilliantly. ” Raffaele Palladino called it “an unforgettable night” and “a dream come true. ”
What the players and opponents said
Davide Zappacosta, one of Atalanta’s scorers, said: “Everyone had written us off. This match showed once again how strong this group is - we always believe and we never give up. ” Dortmund captain Emre Can reflected on his side’s mistakes: “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. ”
Italian football and other ties
The result left Atalanta as Italy’s only representative in the Champions League last 16. Inter Milan, last year’s finalists, had been eliminated by Bodø/Glimt on Tuesday, and Juventus ultimately came up short despite an impressive fightback against Galatasaray; Juventus trailed Galatasaray 5-2 after the first leg and lost in extra time, leaving Atalanta as the last Serie A club in the competition. Napoli did not even make the playoffs after finishing in 30th place in the 36-team league phase. The presence of Atalanta preserved Italy’s record of having at least one team in the last 16 since that knockout round was reintroduced in 2003-04; not since 1987-88, when Napoli went out in the first round to Real Madrid, had Serie A risked having no teams in the last 16.
Reaction and context
After Inter’s exit, many in Italy described the situation as dire. Journalist Vincenzo Credendino said: “It is a piece of history. Speaking about Italy and Inter, this is one of the worst pieces. ” Daniele Verri warned that all three sides failing to make the knockouts would have been a “complete debacle, a disaster for our clubs. ” Former defender Curtis Davies declared: “Now Atalanta are the darlings of Italian football. ” European football expert James Horncastle added that “They’re sort of Serie A’s Bodo/Glimt in many respects. They were a yo-yo club until about eight years ago and we’ve not only seen them win a European trophy and reach three Coppa Italia finals but really establish themselves in the Champions League. ”
Elsewhere in the round, 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, with Maghnes Akliouche and Mamadou Coulibaly among the names involved and Marquinhos and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scoring for PSG. Désiré Doué reflected: “At the end, when they scored, we felt stressed and it was scary. The objective is to dominate the whole match, but you also have to know how to come back from behind. Next time, we’ll try not to concede a goal, that’s important. ” Galatasaray fended off a rousing fightback by 10-man Juventus as Victor Osimhen struck in extra time to help earn the Turkish side a 7-5 aggregate victory. The text of one roundup ends with the fragment “Trai, ” which is unclear in the provided context.
Atalanta are back in the last 16 for the first time since the 2020-21 season and will face either Arsenal or Bayern Munich, with the draw scheduled for Friday. It marked a rare failure for Dortmund to convert a two-goal first-leg lead in a two-legged European tie; the team had previously done so successfully 10 times.
Referee and disciplinary decisions, the VAR intervention, the two red cards and Samardzic’s decisive spot kick combined to produce one of the competition’s most dramatic finishes and to keep Italy represented in the Champions League knockout phase.
