Full-time: Benfica 1-0 Dortmund
It’s a cherished victory for Benfica, who were overrun for long periods but hung on in there and took their chance to score when it came. Dortmund will be furious at the number of chances they missed - including a penalty - but will know they still have an excellent chance of winning the tie.
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90+2 min: Dortmund attack down the right. Castro clips a cross towards the far post. Ederson tires to intercept but misses. But no one from Dortmund can get a clean header on it.
90 min: There will be at least four more minutes. That’s when the cows come home, and Dortmund will still not have scored.
87 min: Dembélé takes an outswinging corner from the right. It’s headed clear to Pulisic, who essays another volley, this time after trapping the ball on his chest. But his attempt from 25 yards flies over the bar.
85 min: Dembélé swaps passes with Castro and darts towards the Benfica box. But Luisao nicks the ball off him before he can infiltrate.
83 min: What a save! A corner was cleared to the edge of the area, where Pulisic met it with a lovely volley. It deflected off Jimenez to add extra difficulty for the keeper, who adjusted his feet with lightning speed and threw out his right hand to turn the ball around the post!
80 min: Dortmund substitution: Castro and Pulisic on, Reus and Guerreiro off. Tuchel’s big-name worshipper, that’s for sure.
77 min: Dortmund have shot their bolt, it seems. Benfica are looking more comfortable now than at any time so far.
Benfica substitution: Jimenez on, Mitroglu off.
73 min: Salvio gets a rowdy standing ovation for flipping the ball past Schmelzer and drawing a foul on half-way. That’s a yellow card for the Dortmund player and respite for Benfica, who’ve been practically on all-out defence since scoring.
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71 min: Tuchel needs to tell Dembélé to spend more time out wide. He’s staying central and being crowded out by opponents. The space is on the wings and he could wreak havoc there.
69 min: Dortmund have really cranked up the tempo. Dembélé wins and takes a corner, Papastathopoulos head wide.
68 min: A dangerous incursion by Reus is foiled by an excellent tackle at the edge of the area by Augusto.
Benfica substitution: Cervi on, Rafa Silva off.
65 min: Freekick to Dortmund just outside the Benfica box, near the bye-line. Guerreiro seemingly goes for goal despite the acute angle. Benfica suppress their laughter and head the ball away with ease.
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63 min: Tuchel has evidently decided that Aubameyang isn’t going to come good tonight so he’s hauled the striker off and replaced him with Schürrle. A ballsy call by the beleaguered manager, and a good one, too. Can’t keep forgiving misses that border on negligence.
61 min: An on-screen display shows that Dortmund have had 61% possession. They’re probably leading 9-1 on Expected Goals, too, but what good is that, eh?
Aubameyang misses the penalty !
Or, to be precise, Ederson saves! The goalkeeper wisely stood still so he was perfectly placed to turn away a feeble effort from the striker, who had foreseen the keeper making it easy for him. He should have had a hat-trick by now but instead Aubameyang has egg on his face.
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PENALTY TO DORTMUND!
Handball by Feysa as Bartra tried to clip the ball past him.
56 min: Piszczek has a blast from 25 yards, forcing another save from Ederson.
55 min: Reus doesn’t quite catch a half-volley cleanly following a cross from the right, but his shot is on target, all the same, and demands a save from Ederson.
51 min: Sokratis picks out Aubameyang with a well-disguised low low pass. The striker takes the ball and turns to face the only remaining barrier, the goalkeeper, and then slashes the ball inexplicably high and wide! Just dreadful execution by one of the world’s finest strikers. Poor Thomas Tuchel!
GOAL! Benfica 1-0 Dortmund (Mitroglou 49)
Dortmund are punished for terrible defending from a corner - and those first-half misses. Pizzi delivered an outswinging corner that was met by a header from Luisao near the penalty spot. Burki dived low to block it but could not hold it because of pressure by Mitroglu, who stabbed into the net from close range.
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49 min: Benfica discombobulate Dortmund with a dose of their own medicine, pressing the visitors into losing possession near their own box. Nothing comes of the ensuing throw-in but Benfica’s intent is clear: they’re not about to let themselves continue to be pushed around on their own turf.
47 min: Benfica bound straight in to to the front foot and win a corner. Pizzi sends over an out-swinger, which Dortmund clear.
Benfica substitution: Augusto on, Carrillo off. Rui Vitoria is apparently trying to get some kind of foothold in midfield.
Half-time: Benfica 0-0 Dortmund
After a wonderful helter-skelter start the match settled into a clear pattern: Dortmund dominating possession, Benfica defending tenaciously. Much of the Germans’ build-up play has seemed a tad convoluted but they did manage to create two excellent chances, both of which were squandered. Will they improve or be punished in the second half?
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45+1 min: Eliseu heads a dangerous cross by Schmelzer out for a corner. Guerreiro curls the setpiece into the hands of the unchallenged Ederson.
45 min: A rare attack by Benfica is curtailed by Reus, tacking back to good effect.
42 min: That’s more like it from Dortmund! They attacked down the left and made rapid gains thanks to a sharp one-two between Guerreiro and Reus. Alas, the latter’s eventual cross is inaccurate.
40 min: Dembélé chases a ball down the right-hand side of the box. Ederson charges out to try to clear ... but Dembélé beats him to it and nicks the ball past him before being clobbered by the goalkeeper’s swinging foot! Dembélé is hurt - but the official saw nothing untoward and fail to award even a freekick.
38 min: Did someone say dunderheaded? Fejsa tried to shepherd the ball out of play but misjudged badly, allowing Guerreiro to stretch out of a foot and swipe the ball across the face of goal. Fortunately for Benfica no other Dortmund player had anticipated such a development, so there was no one on hand to tap the ball into the net.
35 min: See the previous entry. Nothing has changed since then. It’s impressively disciplined defending by Benfica and increasingly dunderheaded attacking from Dortmund.
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32 min: The match is now taking place almost exclusively in the Benfica half, and the ball is almost exclusively in the possession of Dortmund. Benfica’s players have formed a dense central cluster, effectively ceding the flanks to the visitors - but Dortmund are concentrating most of their efforts on trying to pick a way through the middle.
30 min: The match enters its first lull, as Dortmund seem to run short of ideas and Benfica welcome a chance for a breather.
27 min: Freekick to Dortmund wide on the left following a foul on Schmelzer. They take it short and resume circulating the ball in zesty fashion. But Benfica stop their progress before they reach the box.
24 min: After a delay caused by the need for a couple of players to get a rub-down, Reus swings in a corner. Ederson punches it about 30 yards clear. Schmelzer retrieves the ball and is ambushed by the wacky idea that he could smash it into the net from that distance. He missed, by the length of a team bus.
21 min: Dortmund are in danger of over-rruning Benfica, whose defending is becoming increasingly desperate. After sustained pressure from the Germans, Reus pulls the ball back from the left-hand bye-line. Dembélé collects it about 10 yards out and tries to fire a low shot into the net. But Lindelof and the goalkeeper throw themselves at it and deflected it out for a corner.
18 min: Newcastle took the lead after one minute but are now 2-1 down at Carrow Road. The Championship is brilliant fun.
17 min: For all the excitement and attacking bravado we’ve seen so far, there’s yet to be a shot on target. That’ll change soon, for sure, and the odds are on most of them coming from Dortmund, who are starting to take control of possession, leaving the hosts to retreat and play for counter-attacks.
14 min: This match is clattering along at such an engrossing pace that I’ve hardly had time to check the scores elsewhere - but I see that Ipswich are beating Brighton and Rotherham are leading against Huddersfield. If anyone fancies adding flesh to those intriguing bones, please do get in touch.
12 min: Dembélé is playing centrally. You wouldn’t quite say that he’s the team’s playmaker but they sure do look for him a lot. And there’s a very good reason for that: this is a phenomenally talented 19-year-old.
10 min: Dortmund’s high pressing pays off as Dembélé wins possession mid-way inside the home half. He then shows his precocious calmness and vision by threading a slick pass through to Aubameyang, who races clear on goal. He lets fly from the edge of the area, aiming for the top corner as the keeper advances towards him. But he lifted the ball too high and whizzes over the bar. A glorious chances wasted! But he’ll definitely get more, the way this game is going.
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7 min: Carrillo outfoxes Guerreiro with a brazen drag-back on the touchline, bringing delighted cheers from the crowd. But then he ran the ball out of play. A first-rate anti-climax, in fairness.
5 min: This is already living up to its billing: the match is being played at a cracking pace and with high-class skill - and both teams very open. Sokratis almost scored the first goal just now but tonked a shot over from 18 yards after feinting his way past Schmelzer.
3 min: Semedo produces a lovely flourish of skill to take him past an opponent deep in his own half, then he races forward, exchanges passes with Salvio and delivers a cross that’s turned behind for a corner.
1 min: We have kickoff! Dortmund got the first touch but didn’t hold on to possession for long. In fact, they were under pressure before even a minute had elapsed, as Salvio hurtled down the right and tricked his way past Durm. Dortmund scrambled sufficiently to clear his cross.
The teams stride on to the pitch and take their place in front a huge and majestic banner of an eagle clasping the European Cup. Underneath is the slogan “Vence Por Nos” [“Win for Us”]. It looks brilliant, and the aural accompaniment from the home fans is equally rousing. With an atmosphere like this it would be rude of the players not to put on a show.
Thomas Tuchel is a manager under pressure today, with some in the German media organs suggesting he could be given Das Boot if Dortmund fail to progress and some English media organs suggesting he’s in line to replace Arsène Wenger at Arsenal. Dortmund are currently fourth in the Bundesliga so you can see why such talk may have come about.
Teams:
Benfica: Ederson; Semedo, Luisao, Lindelof, Eliseu; Salvio, Pizzi, Fejsa, Carrillo; Rafa Silva, Mitroglu
Subs: Cesar, Augusto, Samaris, Jimenez, Cervi, Jardel, Almeida
Dortmund: Burki; Piszczek, Papastathopoulos, Bartra, Schmelzer, Durm; Dembélé, Weigl, Guerreiro; Reus, Aubameyang
Subs: Weidenfeller, Schürrle, Pusilic, Kagawa, Castro, Ginter, Passalack
Referee: N Rizzoli (Italy)
Preamble (the reprise)
Hello and welcome to a match that needs an introduction, it turns out. So here’s the lie of the land: Dortmund seemed like one of Europe’s most dazzling teams a couple of months ago and scored goals at a rate never seen outside comic books, an unprecedented 21 in the group stage alone, albeit mostly against Legia Warsaw, whom they took extreme pleasure in whipping. Since the turn of the year, however, Dortmund have been on the slide, especially away from home, and they arrive in Portugal on the back of a mortifying 2-1 loss against Bundesliga waifs Darmstadt. That’s no sort of form to bring to Benfica, who are in bullying mood on home turf and are fairly prolific scorers themselves - especially Kostas Mitroglu, who has scored 12 goals in his last 12 matches and must feel like that spell at Fulham was just a crazy nightmare. Both sides have injury concerns ahead of the game - don’t worry, we’ll inspect the lineups presently - but the signs are that this is going to be an all-action goalfest. That’s an ironclad MBM guarantee right there, and you can have your money back if we’re wrong.
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to a match that needs no introduction.
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