Dortmund Must Push 100 Percent To Advance Against Atalanta In Champions League

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Borussia Dortmund travel to Bergamo with a 2-0 advantage over Atalanta in their Champions League play-off tie, yet Niko Kovac is warning against any relaxed approach. First-leg goals from Serhou Guirassy and Maximilian Beier in Germany placed Dortmund close to the round of 16, but both clubs insist the contest remains open.

Kovac views the return leg as a new challenge rather than a formality, especially given Dortmund’s mixed away form in Europe. Dortmund have won only one of their last five Champions League matches on the road, and the team conceded four goals in three of those fixtures, a pattern that worries the head coach before the match on Wednesday.

Historical numbers across the competition underline Dortmund’s strong position but also underline potential danger. Before this season, teams leading a Champions League knockout tie by two goals or more after the first leg had advanced on 111 of 126 occasions. Only 15 clubs had failed to go through, with Barcelona’s loss to Liverpool in the 2018-19 semi-finals the most recent example after a 4-3 aggregate defeat.

Dortmund’s own record when winning first legs in Champions League knockout rounds is also positive. The club have progressed from seven of nine such ties. On both eliminations, against Paris Saint-Germain in 2019-20 and Chelsea in 2022-23, Dortmund’s first-leg margin was only a single goal, a contrast to the current two-goal cushion against Atalanta.

Kovac made clear during Tuesday’s pre-match press conference that Dortmund’s focus is on intensity rather than protecting the scoreline. "We're definitely not coming here to manage the game and the result. That won't get us anywhere," Kovac said. The head coach wants Dortmund to hunt for another goal and build belief rather than sit deep.

Kovac added further detail about the mindset he expects from the players in Bergamo. "We want to try to impose our own game. If we can score a goal, then we'll have a lot more confidence. The first leg was a good result, but nothing more. That's why we'll clearly focus on our game. We have to be sharp and we have to be good, and if we want to advance to the next round, we need to push ourselves to the limit. And the limit is always 100%."

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Atalanta enter the second leg in a situation they have never previously experienced in major European competition. This is the first time the Italian side have trailed by more than one goal after a first leg. They have also lost their last four European knockout ties when starting the second match behind by any margin, a trend they aim to stop against Dortmund.

Head coach Raffaele Palladino still believes Atalanta can respond, highlighting both the scale of the task and the opportunity. Palladino told Sky Sport Italia: "It's certainly a difficult mission, we know that, but we must give it our best. It will be tough, but we'll try with everything we've got, with great enthusiasm and awareness of our capabilities. We must play with quality, with our style of football, and have faith in ourselves. I want to see us push from the first minute to the last. It is a dream to get through to the round of 16, but dreams can come true, so we've got to give it our best."

Both coaches therefore frame the Champions League play-off tie as far from settled, despite Dortmund’s 2-0 lead and stronger historical position. Dortmund lean on experience and numbers, while Atalanta rely on belief and intensity at home, leaving the second leg finely balanced between probability and hope.