Borussia Dortmund beat Newcastle United to breathe life into Champions League campaign

Borussia Dortmund managed to blow Group F wide open once again as they delivered a fantastic rearguard performance to earn a 1-0 win over Newcastle United.

Winning ugly seems to be the theme of Borussia Dortmund’s season at the moment. And they managed to show their defensive resolve once again on Wednesday evening, as they claimed a hard-fought 1-0 win away to Newcastle United.

The Black and Yellows took the intense Tyneside rain in its stride to shut out Newcastle United, thanks in part to fantastic performances from Gregor Kobel and Nico Schlotterbeck. Felix Nmecha scored the only goal of the game in the first-half, as Eddie Howe’s side were made to rue missed chances.

Borussia Dortmund defended with great tenacity and put in the hard graft to clinch their first win in England since 2016 (vs Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Europa League).

Edin Terzic was forced into making two changes to his starting XI, with Julian Brandt and Julian Ryerson missing out due to injury and illness respectively. Ramy Bensebaini and Marcel Sabitzer came into the team as Marco Reus and Donyell Malen joined Niclas Füllkrug in the front three.

The game got off to a frantic start with both goalkeepers forced into action early on. Gregor Kobel had to be at his best to deny Anthony Gordon twice, while Nick Pope made a fantastic double save to keep Malen and Füllkrug at bay.

Borussia Dortmund showed great initiative to attack in the first-half while maintaining their defensive shape to shut out Newcastle.

And they were rewarded for their discipline on the stroke of half-time, as Nico Schlotterbeck brilliantly won the ball on the half-way line before continuing his run and finding Felix Nmecha, who made the most of the space he was afforded inside the box by finding the bottom corner.

The former Manchester City youth team player’s first competitive goal in a Borussia Dortmund shirt gave them something to hang on to in the second-half. And they did exactly that.

Newcastle threw all they had at the BVB goal but a combination of incredible goalkeeping from Gregor Kobel and the woodwork prevented the home side from scoring.

In the end, Borussia Dortmund showed that they are not ready to give up on their hopes of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League round of 16 just yet as they managed to leapfrog Newcastle United and are now up to second place in the Group F standings.