Gregor Kobel: Borussia Dortmund’s man for the big occasion

Gregor Kobal – Consistently Reliable

There are positionally sound goalkeepers that are lauded for their ability to simply be aware, reliable, and avoid basic errors. Others make their living through world-class acrobatics that routinely end up on YouTube highlight reels. Then there are the elite few who consistently do all of the above. Gregor Kobel finds himself sitting at this table.

In a match where Borussia Dortmund found themselves reeling in the waning moments, it was Kobel who rose to the occasion as he so often has in front of a raucous Yellow Wall.

Edin Terzic didn’t try to sugarcoat the reality of the match narrative by stating that “Chelsea were very dominant in the closing stages and often in the final third. We weren’t always able to defend against them cleanly.”

The aforementioned closing stages will have only left Joao Felix and co in disbelief as they were denied time after time. Kobel successfully claimed 100% of the crosses he engaged with, saved seven shots on target (His CL record), and perhaps most crucially, committed no errors that gave Chelsea even the slightest chance at a scrappy late equalizer.

He was convincing in each of his actions. Punching away crosses with poise, handling low-driven shots from Felix with ease, and tipping looping attempts from Reece James over the bar precisely as he needed to.

Kobel’s final stamp and exclamation point on the match came in the fourth minute of stoppage time as Enzo Fernandez thought he had made amends for his failure to prevent Adeyemi’s opener. The Argentine playmaker fired a curling shot to the top corner only to be denied once more by the outstretched arms of Borussia Dortmund’s #1.