Pre-Match Report
The facts ahead of the play-off first leg against Atalanta
The scenario: After a strong start (three wins, one draw, one defeat) in the first five games of the 2025/26 league phase, BVB managed to win just one point from their last three matches and dropped from sixth to 17th place. Borussia Dortmund will face an Italian opponent for the third time in the current Champions League season. At the start of the league phase, they drew 4-4 with Juventus and finished with a 2-0 home defeat to Inter Milan. Atalanta lost their first and last two matches, recording four wins and one draw in between to finish 15th.
The rules: The teams ranked 9th to 16th will have home advantage in the second leg. The eight winners of the eight play-off matches will advance to the round of 16. If the aggregate score is level after both legs, the match will go to extra time, followed by a penalty shoot-out if neither team finds a winner in extra time. The winner of the tie between BVB and Atalanta (17th and 15th after the league phase) will face the team that finished first (Arsenal) or second (Bayern Munich). This will be decided by a draw on 27 February.
Home/away: The Black & Yellows have lost only two of their last 22 home games in the UEFA Champions League, recording 13 wins and seven draws. Their goal difference stands at 47 for and 16 against. Their home record against Italian teams is eight wins, five draws and eight defeats. Their most recent result was a 2-0 defeat against Inter Milan.
Previous matches: Borussia Dortmund and Atalanta faced each other eight years ago in the round of 32 of the 2017/2018 UEFA Europa League. At SIGNAL IDUNA PARK, BVB came from behind to win 3-2 thanks to goals from Michy Batshuayi (65th and 90+1st minute) to take a 3-2 lead. In the sleet in Bergamo, Marcel Schmelzer poked the ball over the line in the 83rd minute to make it 1-1 and secure BVB's fortunate passage to the next round.
Head-to-head: Borussia will face a Serie A opponent for the 43rd time. So far, they have recorded 12 wins, eight draws and 22 defeats. For Atalanta, this will be their 14th encounter with a Bundesliga opponent (six wins, three draws and four defeats to date). Of the last eight matches, they have lost only one, winning the last three without conceding a goal (3-0 in Frankfurt, 2-0 in Stuttgart and 3-0 against Leverkusen in the 2024 Europa League final). In seven away games in Germany to date, Atalanta have suffered only two defeats. Both of these came in the Ruhr region: in 1978 in the UEFA Intertoto Cup against VfL Bochum (1-3) and in 2018 – see above – against BVB.
BVB facts: Borussia have reached at least the round of 16 in ten of their last 12 appearances in Europe's premier club competition. This is BVB's fifth play-off tie in the UEFA Champions League – the Black & Yellows have progressed three times (1999 against Teplice, 2001 against Donetsk, 2025 against Sporting) and been eliminated once (2003 against Bruges).
Atalanta facts: Atalanta were in pot two for the league phase draw and have been a consistent and successful participant in European club competitions since 2017. In 2024, the Lombardy-based club won the UEFA Europa League. Last season, the Italians were knocked out in the play-offs. With four wins (2-1 against Bruges, 1-0 in Marseille, 3-0 in Frankfurt, 2-1 against Chelsea), one draw (0-0 against Prague) and three defeats (0-4 in Paris, 2-3 against Bilbao, 0-1 at Saint-Gilloise), head coach Raffaele Palladino's team (head coach since November 2025) finished the 2025/26 league phase in 15th place. This is Atalanta's fifth appearance in the Champions League and they have reached the knockout stages twice.
Compiled by Boris Rupert