Borussia Dortmund collapsed to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Atalanta as their Champions League push came to a shocking end.
Coming to Bergamo with a healthy 2-0 lead from the first leg, the BVB were widely expected to progress into the round of 16 by finishing the job here, but La Dea tore the script apart with a stupendous performance that overturned the deficit emphatically.
Gianluca Scamacca and Davide Zappacosta netted apiece in the first half before Mario Pasalic made it 3-0 as Dortmund trailed on aggregate.
Karim Adeyemi came off the bench to pull one back and level the scores, but a late penalty from Lazar Samardzic sent Atalanta through at the death as Dortmund were reduced to 10-men with Ramy Bensebaini sent off.
Just like that, Dortmund's European run ended and in rather stunning fashion.
1) Everything that could possibly go wrong, did
Borussia Dortmund were not prepared for what came their way at the New Balance Arena. Atalanta were menacing going forward and threw the kitchen sink at their hapless visitors, demonstrating devastating clinicality to score two goals from range in the first half.
Niko Kovac's side spent much of the game on the backfoot as their defense was in sixes and sevens, struggling to keep up with the intensity of the match. They conceded two goals from set-pieces in the second half, a corner and a penalty, as Atalanta turned the tie around in style.
2) Adeyemi's impact substitution overshadowed
Karim Adeyemi's introduction in the match injected some much-needed flair into Dortmund's attacking vanguard. In fact, just five minutes after being thrown in, the German international scored a cracker to level the scores on aggregate for Dortmund, giving them hope on a miserable night.
The diminutive dynamite always sought to carry the ball forward after coming into possession, showing incredible willingness to make something happen. Even in just limited time of action, Adeyemi appeared more dangerous than a toothless Serhou Guirassy.
But alas, his performance was eclipsed late on during a tense finale when Dortmund were reduced to 10-men and Samardzic struck the winning penalty for Atalanta.
3) Bayern are watching
With Bayern Munich coming up next for Dortmund, you can bet the German champions had their eye on the clash in Bergamo last night. And they were served a treat.
Watching their arch-rivals suffer a dramatic meltdown gives them a lot of confidence to face Dortmund in the Der Klassiker this weekend, and perhaps squish whatever little hopes they had of fighting for the league title.
Borussia Dortmund collapsed to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Atalanta as their Champions League push came to a shocking end.