Borussia Dortmund dumped out of Champions League in spectacular fashion as Atalanta BC claim historic win

Borussia Dortmund had two players sent off in the final stages of what was a dramatic defeat to Atalanta BC in the Champions League knockout round playoffs on Wednesday night.

BVB led 2-0 from the first leg, but Atalanta managed to win 4-1 on the night to secure a 4-3 aggregate success and book their spot in the last-16 stage of the tournament.

Dortmund's Ramy Bensebaini received a second yellow card for a high boot on Nikola Krstovic in the final exchanges, which allowed Lazar Samardzic to step forward and score from the penalty spot, with his effort sending Atalanta into the next round.

Nico Schlotterbeck, who was an unused substitute, was also sent off for his protests against the penalty call, while a member of the German club's coaching staff was handed a red card.

3 - #Atalanta are only the third Italian team to progress after losing the first leg with 2+ goals margin in the Champions League knockout stage, after Juventus v Atlético Madrid in 2018/19 and Roma v Barcelona in 2017/18. Magnificent.#UCL #AtalantaBVB pic.twitter.com/OtjNcltYqY

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) February 25, 2026

Atalanta 4-1 Borussia Dortmund: Italian outfit dump BVB out of Champions League

Atalanta created Champions League history with their triumph, having managed to win a UEFA tie having been trailing 2-0 from the first leg for the first time in their history.

La Dea have also become just the third Italian team to progress in the Champions League after losing the first leg by a two-goal margin or more, after Juventus in 2018-19 and Roma in 2017-18.

This is also the first time that Dortmund have failed to progress having secured a two-goal lead in the first leg of a UEFA match - they had done so in their previous 10 attempts.

As a result, it will go down as one of the most incredible games in recent memory.

What next for Atalanta in the Champions League?

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— Atalanta B.C. (@Atalanta_BC) February 25, 2026

Atalanta will take on either Arsenal or Bayern Munich in the last-16 stage of the competition, so they will need something special to progress to the quarter-finals.

Indeed, Arsenal and Bayern are considered among the favourites to win the tournament this term, with Atalanta certainly outsiders at this stage of proceedings.

Atalanta fell in the knockout round playoffs of last season's competition, losing to Club Brugge, but they did manage to reach the quarter-finals in 2019-20.