Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Atalanta: Review; Michy Batshuayi and Mario Gotze engineer spectacular comeback
After BVB conceded twice in the second half, Michy Batshuayi and Mario Gotze pulled Dortmund out of a defensive mess, to win the game against Atalanta.
First Half
Borussia Dortmund kicked things off with some early pressure on Atalanta, hoping to force some mistakes. The line-up was unorthodox but it had plenty of technical players to keep the ball despite a poor defensive structure.
Within the first five minutes, Dortmund had pinned the opposition into their half. This was not practical as BVB was left exposed to potential counter-attacks. For irony, though, Dortmund’s first good chance came from a counter after Andre Schurrle played a spectacular through-ball to set Marco Reus up. Reus’ shot was just wide off the far-post.
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Dortmund continued to press high and recovered the ball in dangerous postions several times. However, they had failed to make use of those chances properly. Atalanta was faltering all over the pitch but their back-line had a done a solid job of keeping danger at bay.
Dortmund’s defence, however, was not doing as well, giving Atalanta a crucial chance, that was saved by a typical last-ditch tackle from Sokratis. Despite the German dominance, the game looked fairly even in terms of goal-scoring chances. While Dortmund was creating a greater number of half-chances, Atalanta was finding its way into BVB’s box with ease.
Michy Batshuayi came close to breaking the dead-lock with a marvellous dribble past a wall of defenders, but it wasn’t meant to be. BVB came close once more in a matter of seconds, but it was Christian Pulisic this time who couldn’t finish from close-range.
It was exactly at the half-hour mark that BVB drew first blood. After some intelligent passing around the box from the flank, Andre Schurrle managed to slip the ball between the keeper’s legs from the outside of his outstretched foot. A bit of luck but well-deserved.
1-0, Borussia Dortmund.
Second Half
Dortmund kicked the second half off with a more reserved defensive strategy. The high-press from the first half was gone, but there was still a sense of urgency. Atalanta wasn’t set to go without a fight and turned up the heat.
The away side finally managed to get through BVB’s struggling defence, as Ilicic put the ball past Burki from a tight angle to level the scores. A spectacular goal, but certainly not a welcome one.
1-1.
His first goal wasn’t enough to put Atalanta ahead but his second which quickly followed suit, was.
Ilicic raced past the defence to meet a ball from wide and put the ball into an open net inside the far-post.
1-2, Atalanta.
Like most games this season, BVB was failing to keep its defence in check.
With an obvious lack of control, Peter Stoger introduced Mario Gotze instead of Marco Reus. This was also accompanied by a change in tactics as Gotze settled into a more central role compared to the Reus’ #10 role.
The change was felt immediately as Dortmund began to retain the ball better.
The manager’s faith was repaid as Michy Batshuayi quickly levelled with a sensational strike.
2-2.
Pulisic nearly gave BVB the lead when he stormed into the box with Batshuayi’s help. However, his effort was stopped with due diligence by the keeper.
After twenty minutes of struggle, as BVB entered stoppage time, Mario Gotze set Michy Batshuayi up for another stunning goal that brought BVB back on top. Great pass, better finish.
3-2, Borussia Dortmund.
The referee blew his three pips and BVB ended the game with a vital advantage.