Borussia Dortmund crash out of Champions League in Bergamo

Dortmund had the advantage from the first leg with their 100th Champions League (formerly European Cup) win last week, but they were under pressure from the first whistle. Moments after Gregor Kobel’s first save of the game, stopping Nicola Zalewski’s effort, Gianluca Scamacca put the hosts in front on the night in the fifth minute.

The striker scored his third goal in as many home Champions League games from Lorenzo Bernasconi’s delivery. Ramy Bensebaini and Daniel Svensson could’ve intercepted the low cross, but there was poor communication between the two defenders.

Atalanta’s pressure continued with Bensebaini having to make a professional foul before Kobel’s second save from Zalewski’s attempt. The third yellow card of the Champions League season means the Algerian will either miss the first leg of the Round of 16 or next season’s league phase opener at the time.

The two goal scorers from last week combined for Dortmund’s first chance of the game around the half-hour mark. Serhou Guirassy’s header from Maximilian Beier’s cross failed to find the target. A few minutes later, Julian Brandt did manage to force Marco Carnesecchi to a save after Beier’s through pass.

At the other end, Jobe Bellingham made a crucial tackle to deny Lazar Samardžić. A minute later, ex-Schalke defender Sead Kolasinac did the exact same inside Atalanta’s box against Guirassy. Dortmund had their best spell of the game in the closing stage of the half, but Atalanta leveled the aggregate score with yet another questionable defending in the last meaningful action before the break.

Bernasconi’s delivery from the left caused trouble once again as Kobel’s desperate punch invited Davide Zappacosta to try his luck from the edge of the box. Dortmund’s goalkeeper scrambled to get into a position where he could save Zappacosta’s shot, but the ball ended up in the net after Bensebaini’s telling deflection.

Carnesecchi was the first to be tested after the restart when he deflected the ball from Guirassy. Shortly after, Beier went agonisingly close when he hit the post with a low effort. Dortmund were also unfortunate since the rebound narrowly evaded Brandt.

That was crucial as Atalanta scored at the other end from their first chance of the half. Fans’ favorites Marten de Roon and Mario Pašalić combined to put the Serie A outfit in front for the first time in the tie. The Mainz-born Croat scored yet another crucial goal with a free header from the captain’s cross.

Niko Kovac immediately introduced Karim Adeyemi and Fabio Silva, who scored his first Dortmund goal to save them against RB Leipzig on Saturday. This time, it’s the former who leveled the score after receiving a pass from fellow substitute Carney Chukwuemeka in a crowded box.

The 24-year-old has scored eight Champions League goals since the last campaign. Samardžić nearly turned the script once again before the end of regular time, but the former Hertha BSC midfielder was unable to keep his shot on target from a promising position.

Just when extra-time seemed a formality, Kobel made another mistake, which left Bensebaini in an awkward position to try stopping Nikola Krstović. The referee awarded an injury-time penalty with Bensebaini dismissed for the second booking, while Nico Schlotterbeck saw a straight red for his protest from the substitute bench.

More importantly, with the last kick of the tie, Samardžić scored the penalty to send Atalanta through. Dortmund exit the Champions League before the Round of 16 stage for the first time since 2021/22.

Dortmund will face another season-defining game on Saturday when they host league leaders Bayern Munich. Since they’re already out of the cup, Bundesliga is their only chance to end the season with silverware.

Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen are the only remaining Bundesliga teams in the Round of 16 of the Champions League. There is a possibility of an all-German tie when the draw is out on Friday.