That night, Atlanta reversed a 0-2 defeat in the first round of the Champions League play-offs with Lazar Samardzic’s last-minute penalty kick and defeated Dortmund 4-1 with a total score of 4-3, creating a football miracle.
La Deja face a tough task after losing 2-0 in the first leg in Germany, their third consecutive defeat in the competition. Charles de Cotrare and Giacomo Raspadori remain sidelined, leaving Ederson on the bench, but Gianluca Scamacca returns to the starting lineup. Borussia Dortmund are without Niklas Süle, Italian Filippo Mane and cup winner Patrick Druce, but Emre Can returns after a month’s absence.
advertise
Find out how it all unfolds on the Liveblog.
BERGAMO, ITALY – FEBRUARY 25: Players of Atalanta and Borussia Dortmund line up inside the stadium before the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League knockout play-off second leg match between Atalanta BC and Borussia Dortmund at the Stadion in Bergamo, Italy on February 25, 2026. (Photo by Marco Luzani/Getty Images)
Nikolay Zalewski came close to scoring in the fourth minute when Gregor Kerber’s fingertip shot went over the far post, but the breakthrough came shortly afterwards.
Lorenzo Bernardasconi rolled over from the left and Rami Bensebaini misplayed as he slid in, only for the ball to go forward and Scamacca tap home from six yards.
Emre Can had to save when Bernasconi volleyed in from Lazar Samardzic’s cross at the far post, before Kerber produced a brilliant fingertip save against Zalewski’s other striker.
advertise
Dortmund’s first chance came in the 28th minute when Serhou Guirassy headed a header wide, before Marco Carnesecchi needed to react quickly to deflect Maximilian Beier’s through ball past Julian Brandt from close range.
BERGAMO, ITALY – FEBRUARY 25: Atalanta’s Davide Zappacosta celebrates his team’s second goal during the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League knockout second leg second leg match between Atalanta BC and Borussia Dortmund at Stadio di Bergamo on February 25, 2026 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzani/Getty Images)
Zalewski curled a shot over the crossbar after a strong sprint from Isak Hien and Atalanta erased their first-leg disadvantage on half-time when Zappacosta’s deflected shot from the edge of the area passed to the wrong-footed Kobel from Bensebaini.
After play resumed, Carnesechi produced another impressive save on Gilasi after a controversial offside call, while Mario Pasalic was unable to get enough power into his shot to surprise Kerber from Scamaca’s stoppage.
advertise
Kerber also raced across the line to close the angle when Maarten de Roon crossed from the right, but Dortmund came within inches of scoring when Bale’s angled shot beat Carnesage and bounced off the inside of the far post.
BERGAMO, ITALY – FEBRUARY 25: Borussia Dortmund’s Felix Nmecha holds the ball under pressure from Atalanta’s Maarten Drone during the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League knockout second leg second leg match between Atalanta BC and Borussia Dortmund at Stadio Bergamo, Italy on February 25, 2026. (Photo by Marco Luzani/Getty Images)
Atalanta survived and took their first lead of the game when Drone’s cross found Pasalic, who headed in from six yards to make it 3-2 on aggregate.
The bad news was that Kolasinac limped off with a muscle problem and then Gilasi fired a fresh-air shot from eight yards out, with Carneseki making two saves on the striker and Fabio Silva.
advertise
Shortly afterwards, Dortmund tied the score at 3-3 when Karim Adeyemi cut inside and curled a ball into the far top corner from inside the penalty area.
Samardzic squirmed between the two and drilled inches wide of the far post, but when Kerber made the mistake of bursting out of defense to clear, allowing Pasalic to cross from the left, Bensebaini awkwardly tried to intercept with his high boot behind him, kicking Kostovic in the head and the game came to a dramatic halt.
With the forward bleeding, there was no doubt about the contact, but after a VAR on-site review, Bensebaini received a second yellow card and, most importantly, a penalty kick, which Samardzic fired into the top corner to put Atalanta ahead 4-3 on aggregate.
Lazar Samardžić’s thumping penalty sealed an incredible night for Atalanta as they progressed to the last 16 of the Champions League 👏 @tntsports and @discoveryplusUK
Scamacca 5 (A), Zappacosta 45 (A), Pasalic 57 (A), Adeyemi 75 (B), Samardiz pen 98 (A)
advertise
Post navigation
Spalletti explains McKennie’s new role for Juventus vs Galatasaray
