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Marco Reus (r.) Does not get the ball in the first half against Ederson
Photo:
PHIL NOBLE / REUTERS
17 years, very clear:
What has not been philosophized this season about the allegedly lacking mentality of Borussia Dortmund?
Jude Bellingham is one of the people who usually has nothing to blame when it comes to attitudes.
The Englishman became the second youngest starting eleven in the quarter-finals history of the Champions League at home.
Bellingham went ahead at Manchester City, he was unimpressed by the big favorite.
Bellingham convinced with great mileage, scored the supposed equalizer in the first half - and was also involved in the creation of the important away goal.
The result:
BVB lost 1: 2 (0: 1) to the big favorites, but after this narrow defeat they still have a chance of making it to the semi-finals.
Knauff instead of Brandt
: BVB trainer Edin Terzic switched his starting line-up to three positions after losing 2-1 to Eintracht Frankfurt.
What sounds like a normal process was definitely explosive.
Because on the offensive, Terzic put on Ansgar Knauff, a youngster who played mainly in the regional league this season and only had three short appearances with the professionals.
Instead, sat on the bench: Julian Brandt, Thorgan Hazard and Giovanni Reyna.
A clear sign.
Terzic's game idea works:
The
role of
favorites was more clearly distributed than in any other quarter-finals of the Champions League.
The fifth, beaten off in the Bundesliga in the sovereign leaders of the Premier League.
Edin Terzic spoke of City in advance of "the best team in the world".
And yet BVB managed to keep the game open.
In the 4-3-2-1, the guests got off to a good start, skillfully blocked the space in midfield and dared to launch their own attacks.
As is so often the case this season after good games in the premier class, the following impression remained after the first half: What would be possible for BVB with constant performance?
This one mistake:
Borussia Dortmund these days also include destroying yourself a lot with a lack of concentration, with a blunder.
In Manchester, this role fell to Emre Can.
That can who, with his experience and charisma, should take on the role of a key player in this young team.
The 27-year-old had a lot of space in midfield, there were different pass options and Can chose the risk.
The pass failed completely, giving City a counter opportunity, which Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and goal scorer Kevin De Bruyne played off perfectly (19th minute).
Wrong leading actor:
After the 1-0 for City, referee Ovidiu Hategan briefly took over a leading role, which is rarely a good sign in such an important game.
First, the Romanian pointed to the penalty spot because he rated Can's duel against Rodrigo as a foul (30th).
According to the TV images, Hategan took this decision back.
The Dortmunders would have liked this option in the 37th minute.
Raphael Guerreiro played a long pass, Ederson came out of his goal - and Bellingham spiked the ball past.
He hit the ball first and then the opponent, there was a loud bang and Hategan immediately decided on foul.
If he had waited two seconds for Bellingham's goal, a second review would have been possible.
Ultimately, it was an understandable decision that could have turned out differently.
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Marco Reus scores the goal, Erling Haaland misses his greatest chance
Photo:
PHIL NOBLE / REUTERS
The goalscorer doesn't hit:
The Dortmunders are threatened with an endless saga about goalscorer Erling Haaland in the coming weeks.
Within a few months, the Norwegian seems to have become too big for BVB, too big for the Bundesliga.
That is why there are some interested top clubs, but an exit clause will not apply until 2022.
This does not prevent Haaland's father and advisor from entering into negotiations with other clubs.
What the striker himself wants is not known.
The topic does not seem to pass him by without a trace.
Haaland sometimes looks annoyed and he would probably have used his missed big chance in the 48th minute in other phases of the season - he has already scored ten times in the Champions League.
One of the linesmen wanted Haaland's autograph after the final whistle.
The important away goal:
What this narrow defeat is worth, Dortmund will only know in the coming week after the second leg.
An away goal is always important in the Champions League, but it's hard to imagine that coach Pep Guardiola's team could be surprised a second time.
BVB even dreamed of a draw after Marco Reus' goal (84th) - after preliminary work by Haaland - but with Foden's winning goal (90th) the allocation on the defensive was wrong a second time.