Croatia
Indonesia
Nigeria
South Africa

Dortmund4 - 2Atletico

sportsmole.co.uk, 16 April 2024, 20:54
Borussia Dortmund have advanced to the semi-finals of the Champions League after beating Atletico Madrid 4-2 in a pulsating quarter-final second leg.

The visitors' one-goal advantage from last week's clash in Madrid had been reversed before the sound of the half-time whistle due to strikes from Julian Brandt and Ian Maatsen for Dortmund.

In a hectic turn of events at the beginning of the second period, Diego Simeone's men regained control of the tie courtesy of a Mats Hummels own goal and an effort from substitute Angel Correa.

Just as Atletico's experience in these high-pressure matches was appearing to come up trumps, Dortmund hit two of their own in a chaotic three-minute spell to win the last-eight clash, with Niclas Fullkrug and Marcel Sabitzer beating Jan Oblak in the visitors' net.

For the first time since 2012-13 - the season in which they reached the showpiece match at Wembley versus Bayern Munich - Dortmund will be involved at the semi-final stage of the Champions League, with Kylian Mbappe and Paris Saint-Germain standing in the way of a return to the English capital in June.

Following last week's first-leg defeat at the Wanda Metropolitano, Borussia Dortmund made the single change to their starting XI, with Brandt - who was influential during his side's second-half improvement in Spain - taking the place of midfielder Felix Nmecha as the 22-year-old dropped to the bench.

There were major absentees from Dortmund's matchday squad, though, with both last week's goalscorer Sebastian Haller and leading marksman Donyell Malen missing out on the second leg due to ankle and knee issues respectively, significantly reducing the Germans' firepower up top.

After netting his team's second of the reverse fixture in Madrid last Wednesday, wing-back Samuel Lino was unavailable for the trip to Signal Iduna Park due to suspension, meaning that the fit-again Mario Hermoso entered the XI, with veteran Cesar Azpilicueta moving onto the left of the visitors' defence.

Having netted a brilliant brace in Saturday's success over Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga, Sabitzer had a glaring chance to give Dortmund a second-leg lead after just three minutes following Karim Adeyemi's cutback from the left, however the former Manchester United man took a touch in the box, allowing Azpilicueta to recover and produce a goal-saving block.

Despite their clear defence-first approach in the opening exchanges, a two-man forward line of Alvaro Morata and Antoine Griezmann were linking up nicely on the break, with the former being sent through on goal in the fifth minute, however after moving across Sabitzer expertly, the Spaniard dinked his effort over Gregor Kobel but on the wrong side of the Dortmund post.

After piling on the pressure for the majority of the first half, Dortmund were ahead on the night and level on aggregate when Hummels played a lovely ball with the outside of his foot to Brandt in the Atletico box, and the German managed to get a shot off, with Oblak only able to parry the ball into the roof of the net.

Simeone's men were attempting to weather a serious onslaught from the Bundesliga side but found themselves two goals down in the second leg, with Chelsea loanee Maatsen finding the net for the first time in the Champions League, unleashing a low-driven strike into the bottom corner after being teed up by a Sabitzer backheel in the box.

Looking to swing the momentum in their favour during the second period, the Spanish visitors made three alterations at the half-time interval, with Morata, Azpilicueta and Nahuel Molina being replaced by Correa, Pablo Barrios and Rodrigo Riquelme, who slotted in at wing-back.

In truth, it was a touch of fortune which allowed Atletico to restore parity in the tie by netting their first of the evening, with Dortmund veteran Hummels scoring own goal on his 502th appearance for the German club after his laboured attempt to clear following a corner-kick unintentionally getting the better of Gregor Kobel.

Acting as a direct replacement for Morata, Argentina international Correa was having a real influence on proceedings at the beginning of the second half and got his name onto the scoresheet to give Simeone's troops the lead in the tie once again, volleying home a close-range effort following numerous desperate blocks in the Dortmund area.

With their wealth of Champions League experience, it felt as if the golden ticket for the semi-finals was falling at the feet of Atletico, however a remarkable three-minute period from the Bundesliga outfit completely switched the complexion of the quarter-final once again.

At the centre of everything positive for Dortmund once more, Brandt played Sabitzer down the left flank, and the Austrian's lofted cross was met by a perfectly-weighted header from Fullkrug, who got across Jose Gimenez to direct the ball past Oblak and into the net off the back post.

Unwilling to settle for an extra 30 minutes against their plucky visitors, Erdin Terzic's men pushed on for a goal that would secure their spot in the last four within the 90 minutes of normal time, and the passionate Signal Iduna Park crowd were treated to just that.

Finding himself in the box, Brandt controlled a long ball down to striker Fullkrug, who unleashed a fierce shot which was blocked, however the rebound fell to the onrushing Sabitzer, and the marauding midfielder shifted to the left before arrowing his strike into the bottom-right corner.

Before a semi-final clash in the Champions League with Ligue 1 giants PSG, Dortmund will refocus their attentions onto their pursuit of a top-four finish in the Bundesliga, with German champions Bayer Leverkusen the visitors to Signal Iduna Park on Sunday afternoon.

Also fighting to end up inside the top four of La Liga, Atletico will look to bounce back from a bitterly-disappointing night in Germany as they travel to Deportivo Alaves on the weekend.

Top News

22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Dundee Utd vs. Celtic (Sunday, 12.00pm) Celtic, looking to maintain their unbeaten run in the Scottish Premiership, will travel to Tannadice Park on Sunday afternoon to face Dundee United. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Everton vs. Chelsea (Sunday, 2.00pm) Chelsea have the chance to go top of the Premier League for a brief time at least when they travel to Goodison Park to face Everton on Sunday. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk South American giants Palmeiras have reportedly sent an 'initial proposal' to Fulham for midfielder Andreas Pereira. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Nuno Espirito Santo will rival Arne Slot to win the Premier League's Manager of the Year award. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona want to sever ties with attacker Ansu Fati at the earliest opportunity in the January transfer window but the player is rebelling against a move, according to a report. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Bayern Munich winger Leroy Sane has confirmed that he wants to remain at the Allianz Arena despite links with a return to the Premier League next year. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Serie A powerhouses Napoli have supposedly expressed an interest in signing Manchester United defender Harry Maguire on a free transfer next summer. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Alexander Sorloth scored a last-gasp winner as Atletico Madrid defeated Barcelona 2-1 at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys to go top of the La Liga table. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal attacker Bukayo Saka has been seen leaving Selhurst Park on crutches after sustaining a suspected hamstring problem in Saturday's 5-1 Premier League win over Crystal Palace. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal have written a new page of English football history thanks to their 5-1 destruction of London rivals Crystal Palace in Saturday's Premier League derby. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Round 17 of the 2024-25 Turkish Super Lig will be wrapped up with a clash between two sides from the Marmara region, as Istanbul Basaksehir welcome Kasimpasa to the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadyumu on Monday evening. 21 December 2024 talksport.com Leicester loan star Facundo Buonanotte wants to see a Tottenham forward join him so they can rekindle their partnership. 21 December 2024 talksport.com Arsenal's rivals will hate it but they can definitely claim London is red after their 5-1 win over Crystal Palace. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus continued his resurgence with two goals as the Gunners demolished Crystal Palace 5-1 in the Premier League at Selhurst Park. 21 December 2024 talksport.com Arsenal fans' worst fears have been realised with Bukayo Saka substituted early with a suspected hamstring injury. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal have suffered a worrying injury blow over Bukayo Saka, who appeared to pick up a hamstring problem in Saturday's Premier League clash with Crystal Palace. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona and Arsenal are reportedly both interested in signing Sevilla midfielder Lucien Agoume, with the France Under-21s international potentially leaving Estadio Ramon next summer. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid have welcomed Ferland Mendy back into their squad for Sunday's La Liga clash with Sevilla. 21 December 2024 talksport.com Mykhailo Mudryk will be sat ringside at Oleksandr Usyk's rematch with Tyson Fury days after being suspended from football. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Southampton have confirmed the appointment of former Roma head coach Ivan Juric as their new manager following the departure of Russell Martin. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Newcastle United's 4-0 victory against Ipswich Town on Saturday afternoon at Portman Road ensured that they followed up their qualification for the EFL Cup semi-final with an important three points in the Premier League. 21 December 2024 talksport.com Southampton have confirmed ex-Roma boss Ivan Juric as their new manager to replace Russell Martin. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Nottingham Forest enhanced their Champions League credentials and condemned Brentford to their first home loss of the Premier League season with a 2-0 victory at the Gtech Community Stadium. 21 December 2024 talksport.com Jack Grealish burned some bridges with Aston Villa after taunting the club's fans following their victory over Manchester City. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk A fitting final Premier League match before Christmas Day, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool engage in a battle of the behemoths in North London on Sunday afternoon. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Aston Villa handed Manchester City a 2-1 defeat on Saturday, adding to the woes of Pep Guardiola's side, who have now endured nine losses in their last 12 matches. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery has claimed that his side decided to defeat Manchester City "through domination" on Saturday afternoon. 21 December 2024 talksport.com "This is a crisis." 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid will be bidding to return to winning ways in La Liga when they welcome Sevilla to Bernabeu on Sunday. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid have added Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk to their wishlist for the summer transfer window, according to a report.