Borussia Dortmund has reached the round of 16 of the Champions League ahead of schedule despite being in a tough group. An away win at AC Milan was enough to secure their place.
In the end, there was no energy left for exuberant celebrations. Completely exhausted but overjoyed and proud, the BVB pros embraced each other after the coup at San Siro. With a 3-1 (0-1) victory at AC Milan on Tuesday evening, Borussia Dortmund reached the Champions League round of 16 ahead of schedule despite a tough group. This means that BVB, previously considered an underdog, will not have to face Paris Saint-Germain in the final match of the preliminary round (December 13). However, the group winner will still be decided there.
“We did really well today. We were in the game right from the start and were able to take the wind out of their sails with our possession,” said the outstanding Mats Hummels on Amazon Prime Video. “I think we earned a well-deserved victory today.”
In front of 75,600 spectators on Tuesday evening, Marco Reus (10th minute, penalty), Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (59th minute) and Karim Adeyemi (69th minute) secured the Bundesliga fourth-placed team’s second away win after their 1-0 victory in Newcastle. Samu Chukwueze (37th) scored the equalizer for Milan. The victory boosts BVB’s confidence ahead of Sunday’s Bundesliga top match against Bayer Leverkusen, who are still unbeaten at the top of the table.
However, anyone hoping for a better start for BVB after the turbulent 4-2 win against Gladbach was initially disappointed. Less than six minutes had been played when full-back Julian Ryerson made a serious mistake in passing while moving forward. The hosts’ counterattack ended with Chukwueze, whose shot in the penalty area hit Nico Schlotterbeck’s upper arm – a questionable penalty was awarded, which Gregor Kobel saved strongly against Olivier Giroud.
BVB could have fallen back into old habits, but instead Kobel’s save gave the visitors a boost. Less than three minutes later, Bynoe-Gittens was fouled in the Milan penalty area, and this time it was Borussia who were awarded a penalty. Reus did better than Giroud and confidently converted to give his side an early lead.
Dortmund played with focus, showing similar maturity to their first-half performance at Newcastle United a few weeks ago. Terzic had initially left Salih Özcan and Julian Brandt on the bench due to colds. But the starting eleven did well, with BVB repeatedly threatening the Italians, who were pushing up high, through their quick wingers.
Then, as has happened so often in the past, a moment of defensive inattention occurred. The nimble Chukwueze got the ball on the right wing and neither Bynoe-Gittens nor Ramy Bensebaini challenged the Nigerian, at best providing escort duty. The 24-year-old took advantage and scored the equalizer from a tight angle.
Bynoe-Gittens shines again – Adeyemi seals the deal
It was one of those typical patterns that BVB keeps falling into. Almost everything went well, especially the concentration, which was good for the most part this time. Milan pressed high after the break, but Borussia defended safely and consistently for the most part. There were still a few minor slip-ups, but fortunately for the visitors, AC Milan also made some.
Similar to the Dortmund defense, the Italians didn’t really intervene when BVB combined well in front of the box after almost 60 minutes. After a fine pass from Marcel Sabitzer, Bynoe-Gittens got on the ball and curled it into the left corner. The first good attack after the break gave Dortmund the lead again.
Shortly afterwards, Terzic made a somewhat surprising substitution, taking off the young goalscorer. But the coach’s ideas paid off. The Englishman was replaced by Adeyemi, who shone in his place, with the Milan defense once again giving him too much space and allowing him to make it 3-1.