The first 25 minutes of that Wednesday evening were almost magical. Borussia Dortmund expressed their joy in fast, powerful, imaginative football like they hadn’t for a long time. “We played ourselves into a bit of a frenzy,” enthused the otherwise rather sober sports director Sebastian Kehl about the astonishing attack football of BVB, which had taken PSV Eindhoven by surprise from the start after the 1-1 draw in the first leg of this Champions League round of 16 second leg.
After just three minutes, the English homecoming Jadon Sancho capitalized on the Westphalian football fireworks against the opponent, who had not yet arrived in the game at that point and was still undefeated at home in the Eredivisie. The 1-0, a typical Sancho goal, scored effortlessly and flatly from 18 meters with the right foot into the left corner, seemed like a beacon.
It inspired the Black and Yellows in front of 81,365 spectators in the sold-out Dortmund stadium, who all too often have to struggle with the difficulties of the level in the Bundesliga. In particular, the Dutchman Donyell Malen, previously an attacker par excellence in Eindhoven, could have added more luck and concentration.
“Stopped completely”
But that wasn’t the case, and that’s why the Dutch found their game, especially in the second half, thanks to a change to a higher level of pressing. Occasionally they seemed to be on the verge of equalizing the duel or even reversing the situation. Borussia coach Edin Terzic’s conclusion was correspondingly differentiated, but still happy about reaching the Champions League quarter-finals with the 2-0 win, secured by a goal from Marco Reus in the last minute (90th + 5). . Speaking to broadcaster DAZN, he praised the first thirty minutes as “the best this season”.
Sancho’s low shot in the third minute rolls over the line. : Image: AFP
Since a 1-0 lead can quickly be used up, Terzic said about the other missed opportunities in the first half: “We should have gotten more out of it. On the other hand, the emotional coach was also happy that former BVB coach Peter Bosz’s team couldn’t take advantage of their chances in the second half. Looking back at Dortmund’s promising start, Terzic admitted that “we lost far too many balls in the second half” and that we “completely stopped” the beguiling game from the first half hour.
Sebastian Kehl, the former captain and leader of BVB on the pitch, knows the discrepancies that can turn a gala into a thrilling game within ninety minutes. “There was a difference between the second and first half. You shouldn’t forget that we played against a very stable team today. “It’s also not unusual that you can’t dominate the whole game for thirty or forty minutes.”
An evening that can inspire
Luckily for Dortmund, the Dutch proved to be too wasteful in their use of their opportunities in front of the once again famous Gregor Kobel’s goal. Substitute Mexican Hirving Lozano came closest to the goal when he thundered a long-range shot against the outside post (53′), while Luuk de Jong, who leads the Eredivisie top scorer list with 22 goals, capitalized on a magnificent opportunity shortly before the end of the goal (90’+4). messed up when he shot the ball high over the crossbar.
Dortmund then celebrated a happy ending when Eindhoven substitute Isaac Babadi stumbled in a running duel with substitute Reus and slipped, giving the former BVB captain a clear path to make it 2-0. Reus found it easy to slip the ball past goalkeeper Walter Benitez.
And then it was finally over and the time had come to celebrate a big victory together with the passionate fans. “When you see which big clubs are in the quarter-finals, it’s really cool to be one of them,” enthused Niclas Füllkrug about an evening that could give the Bundesliga fourth-placed team a boost ahead of the tough games in the coming weeks.
Location determinations in the league
The fact that a goal of his was called back with the help of the video assistant (78th) because of a slight offside position in the shoulder area only annoyed him briefly. In the end, all Dortmunders enjoyed their dedicated collective work with beguiling and frightening moments.
Capitalizing on this for the Bundesliga will be the national task of the fourth-place team, who want to prove themselves again in the familiar Champions League realms next season. The first of three difficult tests will be at home on Sunday against sixth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt, two weeks later against second-placed Bayern Munich and then in Dortmund against third-placed VfB Stuttgart. Location regulations!
Daniel Theweleit, Dortmund Published/Updated: Recommendations: 9 Daniel Theweleit, Dortmund Published/Updated: Recommendations: 6 Roland Zorn, Bremen Published/Updated:
Maybe not so bad for a team that impresses in Europe with its joy of football and often struggles to collect its points in the Bundesliga. “Now we’re happy about progress and today’s game,” emphasized Kehl late on Wednesday evening, “that creates a bit of calm.” Calm before the next storm.
