Atalanta beat Borussia Dortmund 4-1, knocking out the German side on a 4-3 aggregate, to qualify for the Round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League.
The Italian side suffered a poor start, losing 2-0 in the first leg of the playoffs at Signal Iduna Park last week. However, Atalanta booked their spot with a perfect comeback, thrashing their visitors to win 4-3 on aggregate.
The second leg between the sides saw a turnaround in performance, with the hosts breaking the deadlock just five minutes into the game through Atalanta forward Gianluca Scamacca.
Atalanta doubled their advantage to level the tie on aggregate with a goal from Atalanta fullback Zappacosta, netting a shot that deflected off Bensebaini to find the back of the opposition net.
After the half-time whistle, the hosts continued to dominate possession and increased the lead with a goal from a swift delivery by Marten de Roon, which allowed Mario Pasilic to head it home, marking his ninth of the campaign.
Dortmund responded in the 75th minute as Karim Adeyemi made an immediate impact, coming off the bench to score and put his side back in front.
Atalanta responded quickly following the visitors’ goal, with chances from Krstovic and Samardic, though Krstovic missed an opportunity to extend the lead with a decisive header.
Shortly after Krstovic’s chance, Atalanta were awarded a golden opportunity following a high boot challenge by Ramy Bensebaini, which led to a lengthy VAR review and saw the defender sent off after having initially received a yellow card.
A penalty was awarded after the review, with Lazar Samurdic scoring from 12 yards to seal the 4-1 victory and complete the 4-3 aggregate comeback.
