UEFA Champions League: Atalanta defeat Dortmund 4-1, Galatasaray edge Juventus on aggregate to reach last 16

BERGAMO (Italy): Atalanta BC produced one of the most memorable nights in their European history, overturning a two-goal first-leg deficit to defeat Borussia Dortmund 4-1 (4-3 on aggregate) and advance to the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 on Wednesday, according to the UEFA Champions League website.

On the other hand, Galatasaray secured their place in the Round of 16 with a 7-5 aggregate victory over Juventus following a 3-2 second-leg thriller on Thursday.

In the Atalanta vs Dortmund match, a dramatic stoppage-time penalty from Atalanta’s Lazar Samardzic proved to be the decisive blow in a match that saw the German giants crumble under the intense pressure.

Trailing 2-0 from the first leg in Germany, Raffaele Palladino’s side knew they needed a perfect start. They found it in the 5th minute when Gianluca Scamacca scored the side’s first goal of the night. Just before the interval, the comeback was effectively levelled on aggregate as Davide Zappacosta made it 2-0 in the match.

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The second half began with Dortmund attempting to steady the ship, but the momentum was firmly with the hosts. In the 57th minute, Mario Pasalic met a Marten de Roon cross and headed home to give Atalanta the lead for the first time in the tie, making it 3-0 in the match.

Karim Adeyemi, introduced as a substitute for Jobe Bellingham, silenced the Bergamo crowd in the 75th minute with a curling effort that made it 3-1 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate — a result that would have sent the match to extra time.

However, as the clock ticked toward the 100th minute, disaster struck for the visitors. Following a VAR review, Ramy Bensebaini was judged to have committed a foul in the area, earning himself a second yellow card and a subsequent red. Lazar Samardzic stepped up in the 90+8th minute to slot the penalty into the corner, helping Atalanta secure their place in the next round.

Coming to the Juventus vs Galatasaray match, the former produced a performance of immense grit at the Juventus Stadium in Turin, but their spirited comeback fell just short as Galatasaray secured their place in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 with a 7-5 aggregate victory following a 3-2 second-leg thriller.

Trailing 5-2 from the first leg, Juventus managed to level the tie on aggregate during regulation time despite playing with ten men for nearly an hour, only for the Turkish giants to strike twice in extra time.

After several near-misses from Juventus’ Federico Gatti and Teun Koopmeiners, the breakthrough arrived in the 37th minute as captain Manuel Locatelli stepped up to coolly convert the penalty and make it 1-0 in the game.

However, the momentum shifted dramatically just three minutes into the second half. Defender Lloyd Kelly, who had already been booked, was shown a straight red card after a VAR review.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, Luciano Spalletti’s men refused to give up. In the 70th minute, Federico Gatti fired home to bring Juventus within one goal of levelling the tie.

In the 82nd minute, Weston McKennie met a Koopmeiners cross and headed the goal, making it 3-0 in the match and 5-5 on aggregate, sending the match into a thirty minutes of extra time. Galatasaray shone in the extra time as on the stroke of halftime in extra time (105+1′), Victor Osimhen slotted home a goal, making it 3-1.

Juventus threw everything forward in the closing stages, but they were caught on the break in the 119th minute as Baris Alper Yilmaz finished a clinical counter-attack to make it 3i2 in the game and 7-2 on the aggregate, ending Juventus’ brave resistance and confirming Galatasaray’s progression to the Round of 16. (ANI)