Atalanta sealed their spot in the Champions League Round of 16 on Wednesday by converting a penalty in the eighth minute of stoppage time, emerging victorious 4-1 against Borussia Dortmund after a video review.
The decisive penalty from Lazar Samardzic granted Atalanta a thrilling 4-3 aggregate win, maintaining Italy’s presence in Europe’s elite club competition.
As extra time seemed inevitable, a blunder from Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel initiated a final offensive from Atalanta, occurring after the three minutes of stoppage time had elapsed. A cross attempted for Nikola Krstovic was intercepted by Dortmund’s Ramy Bensabaini, who inadvertently struck Krstovic in the head, drawing blood.
Initially awarded a corner, the decision shifted to a penalty following a VAR review, resulting in Bensabaini receiving a second yellow card. Samardzic then successfully placed his penalty into the top corner, igniting celebrations among the Atalanta fans in Bergamo.
Samardzic’s penalty, recorded at seven minutes and 53 seconds into stoppage time, ranks as the second-latest regulation goal in UEFA Champions League history and the latest in knockout round play.
Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP via Getty Images
After falling behind 2-0 in the first leg, Atalanta responded in the first half with goals from Gianluca Scamacca and Davide Zappacosta, with Mario Pasalic adding a third in the 57th minute to take the aggregate lead.
Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi managed to equalize the aggregate score at 3-3 late in the match, but the drama wasn’t over.
With Italy’s streak of having at least one team in the round of 16 since the Champions League reintroduced the format in 2003-04 in jeopardy (after Napoli finished 30th in the league phase and Inter Milan lost to Bodo/Glimt), Atalanta’s victory is a significant result, alongside Juventus, which faces Galatasaray later Wednesday trailing 5-2.
Atalanta advances to the last 16 for the first time since the 2020-21 season and will find out their next opponent, either Arsenal or Bayern Munich, at the draw on Friday.
This report utilizes information from the Associated Press and ESPN Research.