10-man Borussia Dortmund beaten by Ajax despite battling performance

Borussia Dortmund’s hopes of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League round of 16 hang in the balance after they suffered a 3-1 defeat to Ajax on Wednesday. 

Borussia Dortmund were beaten by Ajax on matchday four of the UEFA Champions League group stage despite putting in a spirited performance. After taking the lead through Marco Reus’ penalty in the first half, the Black and Yellows were pegged back in the second as Ajax made the most of their man advantage to secure a 3-1 win.

The game-changing moment came in the first half, however, when Mats Hummels was given a contentious red card for his challenge on Antony. And after Marco Rose’s side also lost Marius Wolf through injury, Ajax ran rampant and took home the three points thanks to goals from Dusan Tadic, Sebastien Haller and Davy Klaassen.

Borussia Dortmund had earlier made an excellent start to the game and were unlucky not to open the scoring in the opening ten minutes. Their first chance of the game came in the second minute. Mats Hummels found himself in acres of space inside the box and headed Julian Brandt’s free-kick just over the bar. The Black and Yellows had another great chance just six minutes later. This time Jude Bellingham fired his header wide in front of an open goal after some really good work from Thorgan Hazard.

Borussia Dortmund then received a blow in their hopes of getting a positive result at the half hour mark as Mats Hummels was controversially sent off by referee Michael Oliver for his challenge on Antony.

But the Black and Yellows continued to dominate the game even after going down to ten men. And their perseverance was rewarded in the 37th minute when Marco Reus made it 1-0 from the spot after Jude Bellingham was brought down inside the box. Reus’ penalty helped Marco Rose’s side take a narrow lead going into the break.

Ajax started to take control of the game in the second half, and highly rated winger Antony caused the Dortmund defence a lot of problems. After Marius Wolf was forced to go off due to an injury, the Brazilian winger started to find a lot of space down the right wing. He set up all three of Ajax’s goals, as Dusan Tadic, Sebastien Haller and Davy Klaassen scored to turn the game around.

The win helped Ajax seal their place in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League. Borussia Dortmund, on the other hand, face a crucial game away to Sporting CP in three weeks’ time. Defeat against the Portuguese side could spell curtains for Dortmund’s Champions League campaign.