Last-gasp penalty and THREE red cards given as Champions League tie descends into chaos

Atalanta booked their place in the last 16 of the Champions League in the most dramatic of circumstances on Wednesday evening.

The Italian side were 2-0 down against Borussia Dortmund after the first leg last week, but they fought back to win it with the last kick.

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AFP

They won the knockout phase play-off second leg 4-1 on the night, with the final seconds descending into chaos.

Atalanta were awarded a penalty in the sixth minute of stoppage-time after a VAR check, with Ramy Bensebaini given a second yellow card for a high boot.

However, before awarding the spot-kick and sending Bensebaini off, referee Jose Maria Sanchez gave out two more reds.

He showed a red card to Dortmund centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck, despite him not playing a single minute of the game.

The German defender is assumed to have provoked being sent off with his reaction to the penalty being given.

Straight after that, the referee then ran over to the Atalanta dugout to seemingly send off a member of their coaching staff.

It was only then that the official gave the penalty and showed another red card to Bensebaini on the pitch.

Once things had calmed down, it was Lazar Samardzic who stepped up to take the pressure penalty, with a goal enough to complete the comeback for the Serie A side.

And Samardzic scored, finishing brilliantly to make it 4-3 on aggregate and send his team through to the last 16.

The final whistle blew as Atalanta celebrated with their fans, while substitutes and coaches sprinted across the field to join them.

AFP

Chaotic turnaround

By turning the game around in the second leg, Atalanta achieved something last done by Liverpool seven years ago.

They are the first side to overturn a two-goal first-leg deficit in a Champions League knockout tie since the Reds progressed past Barcelona in the 2018/19 semi-final.

Meanwhile, Samardzic’s penalty was the second-latest goal (excluding extra-time) scored on record in the Champions League.

The ball hit the net at 97 minutes and 53 seconds.

As for Dortmund, they are just the second German side to be eliminated from a two-legged knockout tie when winning the first leg by two or more goals.

They claim the unwanted feat after Wolfsburg gave up their two-goal lead to Real Madrid in the 2015/16 quarter-finals.

AFP

Who will Atalanta face next?

Atalanta will now face one of Arsenal or Bayern Munich in the last 16, with the draw taking place on Friday morning.

The draw will get underway at 11am and is taking place at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland.

The last 16 fixtures are then scheduled to be played across March 10-11 and March 17-18.

talkSPORT will be right across the next draw and following matches throughout the rest of the campaign.

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