Schmelzer's late goal breaks Atalanta hearts, sends Dortmund into last 16

Marcel Schmelzer's untidy 83rd-minute equaliser was enough to send Borussia Dortmund into the Europa League round of 16 on Thursday, and deny Atalanta a famous result in its own backyard.

Peter Stoger's brief reign at Dortmund has faced harsh criticism, and that looked set to continue when Rafael Toloi's prodded Atalanta ahead against the leaden-footed visitor. However, when the reinvigorating effect of Marco Reus' 59th-minute introduction looked to have waned, Etrit Berisha palmed the midfielder's deflected shot into the path of Schmelzer.

Dortmund won the two-legged affair 4-3 on aggregate.

It was a cruel end to Atalanta's mesmeric European campaign. Serie A's overachiever was drawn in a group with Olympique Lyonnais, Everton, and Apollon Limassol in the previous stage, but finished top of the quartet with 14 points across six matches. There were opportunities to kill Thursday's tie off as well, but Dortmund's individual brilliance eventually came to the fore.

Schmelzer's first-ever goal in a continental competition put Dortmund's name in the hat for Friday's round-of-16 draw in Nyon, Switzerland.