Atlético settled the first round against Borussia Dortmund for a place in the Champions League semi-finals with a narrow victory, valuable, but which tasted like very little after a dream first half, goals from Rodrigo de Paul and Samuel Lino and even some clear option to sign a 3-0 that would have been practically definitive. On the other hand, in the final stretch came Sébastien Haller’s goal for Borussia Dortmund, a blow that brought the tie very much alive, too much so, to the cauldron of the Westfalenstadion, one of the most feared venues in Europe for any visitor.
Griezmann’s mischievous smile while the Champions League anthem played and the camera looked for the players gave away the Frenchman. Big night at the Metropolitano, with a gala atmosphere, from the Vicente Calderón. Aware of the importance of taking advantage of the atmosphere to give Dortmund an advantage, Atlético came out intense. He soon found Morata on the run, but the Madrid native was no faster than the good yellow defensive retreat. The high mattress pressure bore fruit, as goalkeeper Kobel got nervous, he gave in to Maatsen in a compromised situation and the Dutchman sealed the German disaster by leaving the goal on a plate for Rodrigo de Paul.
Overwhelmed by Atlético’s forceful staging, Dortmund could not find a way to move the game away from their domains. Witsel, a former Borussier, threatened with a heel, and Lino, with plenty of nerve, tried his luck with a Chilean plastic. Idyllic setting for Simeone’s team, with no news about the green of the European champion in ’97.
Atlético
Oblak, Molina (Saúl, min. 91), Witsel (Savic, min. 91), Giménez, Azpilicueta, Lino (Riquelme, min. 91), Llorente, Koke, De Paul (Correa, min. 80), Griezmann and Morata (Barrios, min. 64).
2
–
1
Dortmund
Kobel, Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen, Sabitzer (Reus, min. 84), Can (Ozcan, min. 84), Sancho, Nmecha (Brandt, min. 46), Adeyemi (Bynoe-Gittens, min. 73) y Füllkrug (Haller, min. 60).
Goals: 1-0: min. 4, De Paul. 2-0: min. 32, Lino. 2-1: min. 81, Haller.
Referee: Marco Guida (Italy). He cautioned Emre Can, Lino, Llorente, Sancho and Giménez.
Incidents: First leg of the Champions League quarterfinals played at the Metropolitano.
Morata joined the fray with a deflected point-blank header and although Dortmund appeared for the first time in the red and white area with a high header from Nmecha, the well-deserved second local goal arrived. Lino signed it, after another blunder by the Germans in the release of the ball and the assistance of the magician Griezmann.
Only the double advantage slowed down Atlético, well supported by Oblak against Maatsen’s dangerous long-range shot, who sought to redeem himself for his failure in the red and white’s first goal. A high shot from Sancho put an end to a very good first half for the Cholo team, who still appreciated the break.
‘Borussier’ reaction
Dortmund needed a reaction to avoid condemning themselves to the epic at home and the truth is that they took a step forward. Sabitzer and Füllkrug tested the reflexes of Oblak, who was very solvent, but above all Borussia gained meters and already seemed different, a version more in line with what was expected for a team capable of overcoming the group of death as first. Atlético responded accordingly, with the reinforcement of Barrios in the midfield to try to control the duel and preserve a substantial advantage for the return leg.
Atlético was even able to increase their advantage, with a close-range shot by Lino at the far post after Griezmann’s cross, but they ran into the providential intervention of Kobel. The colchoneros forgave what could have been a sentence to the tie and paid dearly for it, with Haller’s goal after a fortunate rejected ball and the former Ajax player’s shot on the turn. It could have been worse, as Brandt’s header against the post in injury time forced him to call time to preserve the valuable but bittersweet victory.
2024-04-10 21:32:20
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