De Roon: ‘Atalanta must believe, we can hurt Borussia Dortmund’ | OneFootball

Marten de Roon insists Atalanta ‘must believe’ in turning around the Champions League play-off after a 2-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund. ‘We can hurt them too and build on that.’

The game was delayed by 15 minutes in Dortmund because hosts Borussia were caught in traffic and arrived late to the stadium.

Nonetheless, they opened the scoring within three minutes thanks to a Serhou Guirassy header, then he provided the assist for Maximilian Beier to double their lead before half-time.

De Roon has faith in Atalanta future

DORTMUND, GERMANY – FEBRUARY 17: Mario Pasalic, Isak Hien and Marten de Roon of Atalanta applaud the fans following the team’s defeat during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Knockout Play-off First Leg match between Borussia Dortmund and Atalanta BC at BVB Stadion Dortmund on February 17, 2026 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

“We struggled with their pace at the start, but then it became a more balanced game, we had a couple of chances, and the real pity was conceding the second goal,” De Roon told Sky Sport Italia.

The second leg is in Bergamo on February 25, and Atalanta have a huge task ahead of them to turn this around if they are to enter the Champions League Round of 16.

“We must always believe, and we believe a lot, because the last 25 minutes gave us confidence we can hurt them too. They are dangerous running into spaces, but we know what we can do and want to build on that,” continued De Roon.

“We went into the locker room, closed the door, and told each other we must believe, because we are a strong team. We attacked more in the second half and that meant leaving spaces, but we did well not to concede a third.”

DORTMUND, GERMANY – FEBRUARY 17: Gianluca Scamacca of Atalanta looks dejected after conceding the second goal during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Knockout Play-off First Leg match between Borussia Dortmund and Atalanta BC at BVB Stadion Dortmund on February 17, 2026 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Pau Barrena/Getty Images)

Both goals were conceded with defensive errors, as Guirassy and Beier were left in acres of space to finish their chances, but even more disappointing was the lack of genuine scoring opportunities from Atalanta.

Atalanta crushed Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the Europa League Final back in 2024, but things have changed since then.

DORTMUND, GERMANY – FEBRUARY 17: Gianluca Scamacca of Atalanta is challenged by Waldemar Anton of Borussia Dortmund during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Knockout Play-off First Leg match between Borussia Dortmund and Atalanta BC at BVB Stadion Dortmund on February 17, 2026 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

“At least we raised the level, as it was the Champions League tonight and not the Europa League,” noted De Roon.

“I was very impressed with Borussia Dortmund, Felix Nmecha has enormous physical presence, but I still believe we can fight it out with them and have our say in Bergamo.”