No all-German clash: BVB face Atalanta in Champions League play-offs | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund will face Atalanta Bergamo in the play-offs of the Champions League knockout stage. The draw at UEFA headquarters in Nyon on Friday afternoon handed BVB a challenging duel with the 2024 Europa League winners – and once again, an opponent from Italy.

During the draw, Borussia Dortmund avoided an all-German clash with Bayer Leverkusen. Instead, BVB will now take on Atalanta Bergamo, a team that has established itself as a fixture in European competition in recent years. The first leg will take place on February 17 or 18 at Signal Iduna Park, with the return leg a week later at the New Balance Arena in Bergamo.

This will already be Dortmund’s third encounter with an Italian club in this Champions League season. In the opening match of the league phase, BVB drew 4-4 with Juventus Turin, and ended with a 0-2 home defeat against Inter Milan. Another trip to Italy therefore seems almost inevitable – and is, from a sporting perspective, anything but easy.

Atalanta Bergamo was in Pot 2 during the league phase draw and finished the group stage just ahead of BVB in 15th place. The team, coached by Raffaele Palladino, who has been in charge since November 2025, collected four wins, one draw, and three losses. Their victories against Brugge, Marseille, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Chelsea particularly underline the Lombards’ international competitiveness.

Memories of 2018 and a Duel on Equal Terms

This pairing is not new for BVB. Back in the 2017/2018 Europa League season, Dortmund and Atalanta faced each other in the round of 32. Back then, BVB prevailed after two intense matches. In the first leg at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK, Dortmund came from behind to win 3-2 thanks to two late goals from Michy Batshuayi. In the return leg, Marcel Schmelzer secured a 1-1 draw with a goal in the 83rd minute amidst the snow in Bergamo, ensuring Dortmund’s somewhat fortunate progression.

Eight years later, the situation is different, but the roles are similarly open. In BVB’s last eleven European matches against Italian teams, the record is almost balanced: three wins, four draws, and four losses. Everything points to a duel on equal terms, where the details are likely to make the difference.

Atalanta arrives with the confidence of a titleholder. Their 2024 Europa League triumph, which also prevented Bayer Leverkusen’s potential treble, has earned the club respect across Europe. Dortmund, on the other hand, wants to prove after a mixed league phase that they can regain their former strength in the knockout round.

The exact dates and times for the 16 play-off matches will be announced by UEFA shortly.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.