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BERGAMO, ITALY – FEBRUARY 25: Mario Pasalic of Atalanta celebrates scoring his team’s third goal with teammates and fans during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Knockout Play-off Second Leg match between Atalanta BC and Borussia Dortmund at Stadio di Bergamo on February 25, 2026 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
Atalanta performed a football miracle by overturning the 2-0 Champions League play-off first leg defeat to beat Borussia Dortmund 4-1 on the night with a last-gasp Lazar Samardzic penalty, 4-3 on aggregate.
La Dea had a big task ahead of them after losing the first leg 2-0 in Germany, their third consecutive defeat in the competition. Charles De Ketelaere and Giacomo Raspadori were still out of action, with Ederson only fit for the bench, but Gianluca Scamacca returned to the starting XI. Borussia Dortmund were missing Niklas Sule, Italian Filippo Mane and cup-tied Patrick Drewes, but Emre Can was back after a month out.
See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.
Nicola Zalewski nearly scored in the fourth minute, Gregor Kobel fingertipping the angled drive past the far post, but the breakthrough arrived moments later.
Lorenzo Bernasconi got down the left and rolled across, Ramy Bensebaini sliding in got it wrong and just kept the ball going for Scamacca to tap in from six yards.
Emre Can had to put it out for a corner when Bernasconi volleyed a Lazar Samardzic cross back from the far post, then Kobel made a sensational fingertip save on another Zalewski scorcher.
Serhou Guirassy nodded the first Dortmund chance wide at the back stick on 28 minutes, then Marco Carnesecchi needed quick reactions to deny Julian Brandt from close range on an inspired Maximilian Beier through ball.
Zalewski curled just over the bar after a strong Isak Hien run, and Atalanta cancelled out the first leg deficit on the stroke of half-time when Zappacosta’s strike from the edge of the area took a deflection off Bensebaini to wrongfoot Kobel.
After the restart, Carnesecchi made another impressive save on Guirassy after a debatable offside call, while Mario Pasalic couldn’t get enough power on the finish to surprise Kobel from Scamacca’s lay-off.
Kobel also rushed off his line to narrow the angle when Marten de Roon was sent clear down the right, but Dortmund were inches away from scoring when Beier’s angled drive beat Carnesecchi to bounce off the inside of the far post.
Atalanta survived the scare and took the lead for the first time in the tie when De Roon’s cross found Pasalic for a glancing header at the back stick from six yards, making it 3-2 on aggregate.
There was bad news as Sead Kolasinac limped off with a muscular problem, then Guirassy hit a fresh-air shot from eight yards in a move that saw Carnesecchi’s double save on the striker and Fabio Silva.
Borussia Dortmund got it to 3-3 on aggregate moments later, as Karim Adeyemi cut inside and bent his curler into the far top corner from inside the box.
Samardzic squirmed between two to drill inches wide of the far post, but there was drama deep into stoppages when Kobel rushed outside his line to clear and got it wrong, allowing Pasalic to cross from the left, which Bensebaini clumsily tried to intercept with a high boot behind him, kicking Krstovic in the head.
The contact was not in doubt, as the striker was bleeding, but it took a VAR On-Field Review to award the second yellow card to Bensebaini and above all the penalty, which Samardzic converted into the top corner to send Atalanta through 4-3 on aggregate.
Atalanta 4-1 Borussia Dortmund (4-3 agg)
Scamacca 5 (A), Zappacosta 45 (A), Pasalic 57 (A), Adeyemi 75 (B), Samardiz pen 98 (A)
25-02-2026 17:45
Knockout phase play-offs
Gewiss Stadium (Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia)ATTBVB4 – 1
Player statistic
| Gianluca Scamacca | 5' |
| 13' | Ramy Bensebaini |
| Davide Zappacosta | 45' |
| 53' | Emre Can |
| Mario Pasalic(Assist: Marten de Roon) | 57' |
| 69' | Fábio Silva |
| Isak Hien | 70' |
| 75' | Karim Adeyemi(Assist: Carney Chukwuemeka) |
| Lazar Samardžić | 90+8' |
| 90+7' | Ramy Bensebaini |
ATT
BVB
Starting lineups
29
Marco Carnesecchi
Goalkeeper
77
Davide Zappacosta
Defender
42
Giorgio Scalvini
Defender
77′
4
Isak Hien
Defender
47
Lorenzo Bernasconi
Defender
23
Sead Kolasinac
Defender
72′
10
Lazar Samardžić
Midfielder
8
Mario Pasalic
Midfielder
15
Marten de Roon
Midfielder
59
Nicola Zalewski
Midfielder
85′
9
Gianluca Scamacca
Attacker
73′
1
Gregor Kobel
Goalkeeper
24
Daniel Svensson
Defender
26
Julian Ryerson
Defender
70′
5
Ramy Bensebaini
Defender
3
Waldemar Anton
Defender
23
Emre Can
Midfielder
8
Felix Nmecha
Midfielder
10
Julian Brandt
Midfielder
60′
7
Jobe Bellingham
Attacker
70′
14
Maximilian Beier
Attacker
60′
9
Serhou Guirassy
Attacker
Substitutes
16
Raoul Bellanova
Defender
31
Francesco Rossi
Goalkeeper
57
Marco Sportiello
Goalkeeper
13
Éderson
Midfielder
5
Mitchel Bakker
Defender
3
Odilon Kossounou
Defender
6
Yunus Musah
Midfielder
45
Dominic Vavassori
Midfielder
69
Honest Ahanor
Defender
72′
90
Nikola Krstovic
Attacker
73′
19
Berat Djimsiti
Defender
77′
7
Kamaldeen Sulemana
Midfielder
85′
20
Marcel Sabitzer
Midfielder
4
Nico Schlotterbeck
Defender
6
Salih Özcan
Midfielder
33
Alexander Meyer
Goalkeeper
31
Silas Ostrzinski
Goalkeeper
47
Elias Benkara
Defender
40
Samuele Inácio
Attacker
49
Luca Reggiani
Defender
17
Carney Chukwuemeka
Midfielder
60′
21
Fábio Silva
Attacker
60′
2
Yan Couto
Defender
70′
27
Karim Adeyemi
Attacker
70′
