Atalanta vs Dortmund: Dramatic 4-1 Victory Secures Place in Champions League Round of 16

Atalanta advanced to the round of 16 of the Champions League after a dramatic comeback, eliminating Borussia Dortmund with a penalty in the fifth minute of injury time in the second half.

The Champions League match between Atalanta and Dortmund took place at the New Balance Arena, Bergamo, on Thursday (26/2/2026) early WIB.

The Italian club won after scoring a penalty in the last second of the match, closing the match with an aggregate victory of 4-3 after losing 0-2 in the first leg in Germany.

This result maintains the reputation of Serie A, which had previously seen the Scudetto holder, Napoli, eliminated in the group stage of the Champions League and Inter Milan losing to Norwegian side, Bodo/Glimt.

Atalanta immediately took the initiative from the start of the match.

Gianluca Scamacca opened the scoring in the fifth minute with a close-range shot, taking advantage of a cross from Lorenzo Bernasconi.

The home team then equalized the aggregate score at the end of the first half through a goal from Davide Zappacosta, whose shot from outside the penalty box deflected before going into the net.

However, Karim Adeyemi scored a goal that brought the aggregate score back to level and opened the possibility of extra time.

The goal was scored in the 75th minute with a curling shot that revived Dortmund’s hopes.

After that, both teams created opportunities, with the match becoming more open towards the end of normal time.

The decisive moment occurred in the last minute of added time. A mistake by Dortmund goalkeeper, Gregor Kobel, created an opportunity for Atalanta to attack.

In that situation, Ramy Bensebaini committed a dangerous foul by raising his foot high and hitting Nikola Krstovic in the head.

After a VAR review, referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez pointed to the penalty spot and issued a second yellow card to Bensebaini.

The decision sparked strong protests from the Dortmund bench. Defender Nico Schlotterbeck also received a red card in that situation.

Atalanta’s success is one of the biggest comebacks in the Champions League knockout stages.

The last time a team was able to qualify after losing by two goals in the first leg was in 2019 when Liverpool overturned the situation against Barcelona in the semi-finals.

Atalanta completed the match with 15 shots on goal, nine on target and an expected goals figure of 2.61 xG compared to Dortmund’s 0.93xG.

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