Atalanta snatched a last-gasp penalty to complete a stunning comeback against Borussia Dortmund, booking their place in the Champions League last 16.
Trailing 2-0 from the first leg in Germany, the hosts responded brilliantly, scoring twice before half-time through Gianluca Scamacca and Davide Zappacosta to level the tie on aggregate.
Mario Pasalic then fired them ahead early in the second half, but Dortmund hit back when Karim Adeyemi curled in an equaliser on aggregate to seemingly force extra time.
However, deep into stoppage time, drama unfolded when Ramy Bensebaini caught Nikola Krstovic with a high boot inside the box following a costly error by goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
After a VAR review, referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez awarded a penalty and sent off Bensebaini for a second yellow card.
With nerves of steel, Lazar Samardzic smashed the spot-kick into the roof of the net, sealing a dramatic victory and sparking wild celebrations among the home fans.
Atalanta had made a dream start, scoring inside five minutes when Scamacca finished from close range after a low cross from Lorenzo Bernasconi. Their momentum continued as Zappacosta’s long-range strike, aided by a deflection, doubled their lead just before the break.
The tie remained finely balanced after Adeyemi’s 75th-minute goal cancelled out Pasalic’s earlier strike, with both sides creating chances in a frantic finale.
Tensions boiled over after the decisive penalty, with Nico Schlotterbeck and Giorgio Scalvini both shown red cards amid heated protests.
It marked a remarkable comeback for Atalanta, the first of its kind since Liverpool overturned a two-goal first-leg deficit against Barcelona in their famous 2019 semi-final.
