The type of football tension that surrounded the final phase of Inter Milan’s appearance at Borussia Dortmund is still relatively unknown in the actually so exciting universe of Champions League football. The Italians led through a free kick goal from Federico Dimarco (81st) and could hope for direct qualification for the round of 16, but no one was in danger of being eliminated.
The audience, who had hoped for a brilliant European Cup night, was not only disillusioned by the performance on the pitch. “It wasn’t an exciting game from either side, there were only a few scoring opportunities,” said Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl.
So there was no celebration or excitement in the stands; in the second half, at least among the spectators who were familiar with the rules, it was all about questions of table and competition arithmetic.
“At some point a table reflects reality”
The discussion was not about dribbling, sharp passes and missed chances, but about possible upcoming opponents. It was about the tournament tree and the question of whether, even after the away goals rule has been abolished, those clubs that are allowed to play the second leg in front of their own audience in knockout games still have an advantage. The final minutes of this duel, which Dortmund ultimately lost 2-0, were atmospherically reminiscent of a draw ceremony at the headquarters of the continental association UEFA.
Shortly after the final whistle, the facts were available: BVB will face Atalanta Bergamo or Bayer Leverkusen in the play-offs for a place in the round of 16 and will play the second leg away. Which of the two candidates will actually be the opponent and whether there is a threat of a duel with FC Bayern in the round of 16 will be drawn on Friday.
In a way, this is a very fitting result from Dortmund’s European Cup season. “A table reflects reality at some point,” said Niko Kovač, the coach of BVB, who finished this group phase in 17th place. As a result of the defeat, the district club even fell behind Bayer Leverkusen and confirmed some of the basic theses of the season so far: Borussia Dortmund is overall solid and stable under Niko Kovač, but cannot beat any really big opponents.
BVB is not among the top eight teams
Only one point came out of the duels with Manchester City, Inter Milan and Juventus Turin. The Bundesliga game at FC Bayern was lost, but Kehl struggled with another game in his short interim review. The 2-2 draw against Bodö/Glimt “hurt,” he said, and the two points lost that autumn evening would have created “a completely different situation” with a real chance of going straight to the round of 16. But somehow, based on their level of play, this team simply doesn’t belong among the top eight teams on the continent.
Once again, Dortmund had made a series of numerous technical errors and inaccuracies; at best, the teams’ defensive work was of good quality. “We didn’t play forward enough,” said Nico Schlotterbeck, which was also because the coach had set clear priorities in his line-up puzzle. The more creative but less reliable players Julian Brandt, Karim Adeyemi and Yan Couto sat on the bench for a long time. Instead, Kovač lined up Julian Ryerson and Maximilian Beier, who worked very disciplined, but just like Emre Can, Jobe Bellingham and Serhou Guirassy, struggled with their deficiencies in handling the ball. “We wanted to have a little more control than we had,” Felix Nmecha said.
Guirassy in particular added another unpleasant chapter to his crisis season when, early in the game, he got the ball completely free six meters in front of the Milan goal and wasted Dortmund’s best chance of the evening with a completely hasty finish. “I think you could really see that he was thinking. That he was a bit unsettled, said Kehl. “Last year he would have just accepted it and dealt with it coldly.”
In the last Champions League season, Guirassy was top scorer, scoring nine goals in eight group games, which is why a year ago he was one of the greatest strikers in the world. “He has to fight against that, and we will help him, or rather his teammates,” said Kovač. However, his phase of weakness has now lasted for so long that there are doubts in Dortmund as to whether he can ever become a relevant factor in this team again.
At least the performance of central defender Filippo Mané was pleasing, although defensively on European terrain is surprisingly a problem for these Dortmund players. Of the 24 teams that qualified for the knockout phase, only Qarabağ Ağdam has conceded more goals than BVB (17). “It’s difficult, it’s Champions League,” said Kovač, whose team somehow met the minimum requirements in this group stage. The fact that the table was more interesting than the game that evening, even before Andy Diouf’s decisive 2-0 defeat in stoppage time, is not a good sign.
