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Łukasz Piszczek celebrates with Mats Hummels (15), Yousouffa Moukoko (right) also wants to congratulate
Photo: ANTON VAGANOV / REUTERS
The group
victory
:
Borussia Dortmund had traveled to the battered last Zenit Saint Petersburg as leaders of the table in order to finalize the group victory with a success.
At the beginning it was a procrastination, but on Monday BVB will go into the draw for the Champions League round of 16 as one of the eight group winners.
However, Borussia cannot be too happy about that: even at the end of February, large crowds in European stadiums seem illusory, the home advantage due to a bulging Westfalenstadion in the second leg is flat.
The result:
BVB's game in Russia ended 1: 2 (1: 0).
Read the game report here.
Stadium experience:
Outside the arena in Saint Petersburg, the temperatures were below zero, inside the conditions were cozy with the roof closed and heated to 15 degrees.
In addition, the five-digit number of spectators brought an approximation of what atmosphere one would like to experience in the Champions League.
15,700 fans are said to have been there.
The first half:
BVB started without nine ailing and injured forces, but captain Marco Reus joined the starting line-up.
A committed start was followed by a setback after a quarter of an hour: Sebastián Driussi hit the right corner from almost 15 meters with a shot deflected by Mats Hummels (16th minute).
Zenit, already fourth in the group before the game with no chance of wintering in the Champions or Europa League, wanted to add something countable to one point from five games.
Sardar Azmoun's 2-0 win was rightly withdrawn in the 33rd minute because of offside, while Reus hit the post seconds before the break whistle (45th).
The second half:
Marwin Hitz, who was once again in goal for Roman Bürki, prevented the second Zenit goal with a strong save against Daler Kuzyaew (47th).
The game was babbling to itself, BVB did not seem to be spurred on by the possible group victory, Zenit around the former HSV professional Douglas Santos was interested in a victory, not a spectacle.
The equalizer fell according to a standard: 35-year-old Łukasz Piszczek pushed a rebound over the line - his first goal in the Champions League in 54 appearances (68th).
Axel Witsel hit the right corner from 18 meters with a shot into the right corner (78th) - the victory for BVB was perfect.
Record for Moukoko:
Céléstine Babayaro held the record for the youngest player in Champions League history
for
26 years.
The Nigerian left-back was 16 years and 87 days old when he started for RSC Anderlecht against Steaua Bucharest in the 1994/1995 season.
37 minutes later he had another entry for sure: he saw the red card and became the youngest player to be sent off the field in this competition.
Yousouffa Moukoko did not get the record for being sent off after his substitution in the 58th minute, but already the best age: At 16 years and 18 days he is now number one in the youngest ranking.
Brandt (in) dangerous:
Julian Brandt is a national player, blessed with a fine foot and high game intelligence.
At BVB he is currently on the spot, with every mediocre game at best, the uncertainty in his actions seems to grow.
The game in Saint Petersburg did not turn out to be the hoped-for accelerator for a return to Brandt's top form.
Up front he made safe decisions, but not positively surprising ones, in the backward movement he let his opponents escape more than once.
No application letter from the 24-year-old for more minutes.
Return with Fortune:
Axel Witsel had worn the Zenit jersey from 2012 to 2017, he won a championship with the club, and via China, he came to BVB in 2018.
When he moved from Benfica to Zenit, the Russians paid a € 40 million transfer fee, a sum he never lived up to.
The routine appearance in today's Champions League game would not have increased the pain of farewell for the Zenit fans, but his goal to 1: 2 would have.
Icon: The mirror