Dortmund Trainer Juergen Klopp
Dortmund hang in there; Barca show excellence at the Etihad
Fantastic goalkeeping, lethal finishing and disintegrating defensive play sum up the final week of first-leg fixtures in the UEFA Champions League round of 16. Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid and Manchester City will have deficits to overcome in the next leg to be played out in March and the stage is set for a thrilling finish leading up to the quarter-finals.
Juventus 2-1 Borussia Dortmund
Juventus played hosts to Jurgen Klopp and his men in yellow on Tuesday night and came away with a 2-1 advantage when they visit Dortmund for the second leg. While the Germans are starting to find their form against domestically, working their way out of the relegation zone into twelfth place, the Italian side proved to be a handful for them in Turin.
Dortmund didn’t have much time to settle into the match before they were a goal down. With just thirteen minutes on the clock, Carlos Tevez netted his fourth goal of the campaign and tenth in the Champions League with an easy finish from a yard out after the visiting side’s defense disintegrated and the Argentine made an unchallenged run into the box. The best chances of the match had been in favor of Juventus, but for the duration of the first half, Dortmund put up a good fight in the midfield but struggled to get organized when the opposition counter-attacked. The visitors had an answer to Tevez’s strike when their homegrown hero Reus slotted a sweet shot past the legend Buffon to clinch a potentially valuable away goal. His finish was well-deserved as Dortmund were looking better in possession and in orchestrating attacks than Juventus and had no problem working the ball anywhere except into the back of the net.
It was the same story of defensive destruction for Dortmund when the brilliant Spanish striker Alvaro Morata scored Juve’s second goal just before half time. Juventus worked the ball around well after recovering from Reus goal and kept Widenfeller very busy leading up to Morata’s goal. The young Spaniard was unmarked on the far post and with a simple switch of play and a cool finish, Juventus had the lead that they managed to maintain through a turbulent second half and that they will take with them to Dortmund.
Defense is Key
On the return leg, Dortmund will need to keep their defense compact and organized to avoid the disastrously simple goals that they conceded in Italy. Although they had some close calls in the second half, Klopp’s men were able to tighten their belts and keep Juventus’s danger men from getting the ball and having an easy crack at goal.
Likewise for Juventus, they will need to run a tight back line to keep Reus at bay and will be facing some serious problems if Dortmund manage to organize and maintain their notorious gegenpressing offensive style that has been their bread and butter in the Champions League.
With Piszczek ruled out for six weeks due to the injury he received in the first leg, Dortmund will have to rely on one of their young defenders to take his spot at right back. Dortmund have the heart and the determination to pull off a big victory in Germany on the return leg and with the voice of their fans, the Yellow Wall, behind them, they stand a good chance.
Manchester City 1-2 Barcelona
The controversial Luis Suarez was on target for his return to England as Barcelona and Manchester City played out an entertaining match and set the stage for a nail-biting second leg.
Manchester City were in deep within the first thirty minutes of the match. In spite of the well-known threat that Barcelona pose in the attack, Pellegrini put out his best offensive side as well with Dzeko, Aguero, Silva and Nasri all getting a place in the starting eleven. While Messi is normally the notorious danger man for Barcelona, Suarez was the man to mark after he netted Barcelona’s two goals in the first half hour of the match. His first goal was the result of a lucky bounce off of Manchester City’s unlucky Vincent Kompany. His second goal was the result of some Messi magic and a clinical cross from Jordi Alba. All the Uruguayan had left to do was touch it home to give his side a 2-0 advantage.
Barcelona were predictably dominant in possession, but Pellegrini’s bold offensive decision paid off when Sergio Aguero scored in the 69th minute and inflicted Barcelona’s 200th conceded Champions League goal. In spite of coming quick off his line, Marc Andre ter Stegen wasn’t fast enough to snuff out the brilliant Aguero who had no problem smashing it past the German keeper and putting his side on the score sheet. Lionel Messi had a chance to notch another away goal for the Spanish side but instead the normally predictable Argentine was fantastically denied by Joe Hart, giving Manchester City fans something to cheer about before the sound of the final whistle.
While 2-1 is no easy deficit to overcome at the Camp Nou, Manchester City will surely want to overcome the 4-1 aggregate loss that has stuck with them since they crashed out to Barcelona at the same stage last season.
