Barcelona survive Borussia Dortmund onslaught in Champions League opener
Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League opener against Barcelona will have the Catalan club counting their lucky stars after coming away with a point. But ultimately Der BVB are at fault for not taking their chances.
The two teams were treated to an electric atmosphere at the Westfalenstadion as they kicked off their Champions League adventure in a fairly one-sided affair that really should have gone Borussia Dortmund’s way. Just the one change for Die Schwarzgelben as the returning Thorgan Hazard took Julian Brandt’s place in the starting 11. Lionel Messi made a return to the squad but came off the bench as youngster Ansu Fati started for the Argentine.
In the first ten minutes, Dortmund started the game with a point to prove. Getting forward and dominating the flanks. Achraf Hakimi also got involved by making overlapping runs and putting the ball into the box. It was Sancho who had the first real opportunity for Dortmund after Reus capitalized on an error and fed the ball to Alcacer who teed it up for the young Englishman only for him to blast it well away from the target.
Barcelona also had their fair share of chances as Burki was called into action after a near-post shot just about clipped his hands and sent it out for a corner. There were also a couple of close calls with Barcelona’s corners which were just about lacking the final touch in the box. Overall the first half belonged to Mats Hummels. One of the greatest defensive performances he’s put in a Black and Yellow shirt. Constantly reading the game and making vital interceptions and challenges. This is exactly what the club bought him in for. Should this have been someone else, then Burki might have been a lot busier in the first half.
The second half was all Borussia Dortmund as they kept creating chance after chance but to no avail. In the 55th minute, Sancho was brought down by Nelson Semedo in the penalty box for a Dortmund penalty. Marco Reus, who had only missed 2 of his last 16 penalties, stepped up but was denied by Ter Stegen. It was a fine save, but later it was discovered that Ter Stegen was off his line by quite a bit. VAR seemed to have missed this one. But the Black and Yellows only stepped it up from there.
Julian Brandt came on for Thorgan Hazard, a change which nearly changed the game in the blink of an eye. Brandt’s strike from a fair distance rattled the bar which had Ter Stegen beaten all ends up. It was still a one-sided affair as Dortmund kept getting forward but simply could not take their chances. Lionel Messi had the chance to put Barca in front with the final kick of the game but Thomas Delaney was there to stop him.
Overall while it may be disappointing to not come away with 3 points it was still a statement game that shows just how ruthless Borussia Dortmund can be both in attack and defence. Keeping the likes of Suarez, Griezmanz, and Lionel Messi at bay is a feat in itself for a defense that has looked shaky this season.
Next. Player Ratings from Borussia Dortmund’s goalless draw with FC Barcelona. dark
Plenty of outstanding individual performances from the likes of Mats Hummels, Axel Witsel and Jadon Sancho and plenty of lessons to be learnt here. The main one: Take your chances. It’s still early in the season and if we can dominate a team like Barcelona then we can hope for a successful season.