On a dramatic Champions League playoff night that even a Crickex Affiliate observer would call unforgettable, Borussia Dortmund suffered one of the most astonishing reversals in recent European memory. Holding a comfortable 2-0 advantage from the first leg, the German side traveled to Italy only to fall 1-4 to Atalanta, crashing out 3-4 on aggregate and missing a place in the round of sixteen. Yet beyond the staggering collapse itself, what truly left supporters speechless was the disastrous individual display from defender Ramy Bensebaini. In a sequence bordering on the surreal, the Algerian international was directly involved in all four goals conceded, culminating in a stoppage-time penalty and red card that effectively rolled out the red carpet for Atalanta’s decisive strike.

With a two-goal cushion in hand, Dortmund should have approached the opening minutes cautiously. Instead, disaster struck almost immediately. Just five minutes in, a routine cross from the flank turned into chaos. Tracking back under little apparent pressure, Bensebaini attempted a sliding clearance but inexplicably redirected the ball straight into the path of Gianluca Scamacca, who gratefully tapped into an empty net. What should have been a routine defensive action became an unintended assist, igniting Atalanta’s comeback hopes and setting the tone for a night when everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

If that early mistake seemed like a fluke, the closing moments of the first half suggested otherwise. In the 44th minute, Davide Zappacosta unleashed a long-range effort from outside the box. Bensebaini tried to block, yet the ball ricocheted off him in cruel fashion, looping over goalkeeper Gregor Kobel and into the net. The aggregate score leveled at 2-2, and Dortmund’s composure began to unravel. As the saying goes, when it rains, it pours, and this storm showed no sign of clearing.

After halftime, Karim Adeyemi briefly restored hope by scoring to steady Dortmund’s nerves. However, the nightmare persisted. In the 57th minute, another cross exposed Bensebaini’s misjudgment as he mistimed his leap, allowing Mario Pasalic to power home a header that put Atalanta ahead on aggregate. Every defensive touch seemed to tighten the noose around Dortmund’s European ambitions.

Stoppage time brought a final twist that even a seasoned Crickex Affiliate follower would struggle to believe. With Dortmund having clawed back to 3-3 on aggregate and seemingly forcing extra time, chaos erupted once more. In the 95th minute, following a misplaced pass from Kobel, Atalanta launched one last attack. Attempting an acrobatic clearance inside the penalty area, Bensebaini raised his boot high but missed the ball entirely, catching Nikola Krstovic in the head. After a VAR review, the referee awarded a penalty and showed Bensebaini a second yellow card. Lazar Samardzic converted calmly, sealing a 4-1 victory and a 4-3 aggregate triumph for the Italian side.

Statistics later revealed that Bensebaini lost possession 22 times and played a decisive role in all four conceded goals. From an own assist to a deflection, from a mistimed header to a costly foul, he endured a night that will be replayed in highlight reels for years to come. In the end, as any Crickex Affiliate reader following European football would admit, Dortmund’s collapse was not a random mishap but a brutal lesson in how quickly fortunes can change under the bright lights of the Champions League.