FULL TIME: Monaco 3-1 Borussia Dortmund (agg: 6-3)
And that’s that. It proved too much for poor Dortmund in the end: last week’s awful fear and worry, the hassle of a quickly rearranged game, tonight’s thoroughly unwelcome delay on the team bus. But let’s take nothing away from Monaco, who were brilliant over the two legs. Tonight’s match might have panned out differently had Thomas Tuchel started with their superstar-in-waiting Ousmane Dembele, but his team were two down by the time he was thrown on. Monaco will grace the semis with a superstar-in-waiting of their own, Kylian Mbappe. And the way they’re playing, they could go one better than their team of 2004. Alongside Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Juventus in the pot, they’ll be the choice of many a neutral.
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90 min: Raggi comes on for Silva. There will be two added minutes.
88 min: The superstar-in-the-making Dembele nips down the right and causes a mild kerfuffle in the Monaco box, very nearly threading a pass through a thicket to find Aubameyang six yards out. So clever, but not quite.
87 min: Pulisic turns on the right-hand edge of the D and sends a fairly lame snapshot off target.
85 min: Schmelzer rakes a ball down the left, and Aubameyang batters a shot towards the top left from 25 yards. What an effort, but Subasic is behind it and tips round for a corner. From the set piece, Monaco clear, and suddenly Silva is one on one with Burki! But Papastathopoulos races back and executes a fantastic saving tackle on the edge of the box. Get that one wrong, and he was off. Marvellous defending (even if his misjudged header had set up Silva in the first place).
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83 min: Dortmund try to pick themselves up and push again, but you can tell the heart’s not in it. A few passes in the middle of the park, but no poke forward.
GOAL! Monaco 3-1 Borussia Dortmund (Germain 81); agg 6-3
Piszczek loses the ball in the middle. Lemar makes good down the left, then curls low into the box for Germain, who sidefoots under Burki. He’s been on the pitch 21 seconds! And he’s put paid to any Dortmund notions of a great comeback.
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80 min: Mbappe is replaced by Germain. Who, with his first touch...
79 min: Especially as Monaco continue to pass up chances to really seal the deal. Lemar is found in a preposterous amount of space down the left. He’s in the area, but facing a slightly tight angle, so instead of shooting, lays off inside for Mbappe. But the ball is a risible nonsense, behind Mbappe, free on the penalty spot. Dortmund scurry around and mop up.
78 min: Dembele once again causes all manner of mayhem down the right. He looks for Reus, but there’s not quite enough space to get a shot away. One more, though, and that would really test Monaco’s resolve.
76 min: Bakayoko, in a tangle of players, backflicks out of trouble to Mendy on the left. Mendy ships the ball inside for Silva, who enters the area and shoots from a tight angle. Papastathopoulos sticks out a leg and very nearly diverts the ball into his own net. It hits the side netting. From the corner, Bakayoko heads over tamely from close range.
74 min: Dembele, playmaking from deep down the inside left, scoops a gorgeous chip further down the flank. It’s teed up for Reus, who lashes one goalwards from the edge of the box. Either side of Subasic and that one was flying in. But the keeper can parry the fierce shot, and Monaco survive.
73 min: Mendy rather saucily stands on both of Dembele’s ankles as the pair scrabble around in the midfield. Before the resulting free kick can be taken, Pulisic comes on for Guerreiro. Finally the free kick is a complete waste of time, Dortmund having loaded the Monaco box and all.
71 min: Something of a lull. Monaco don’t do many lulls, though, do they?
69 min: Toure, out on the right, slips a ball inside for Mbappe, who screeches into the Borussia box. He shoots low and hard towards the bottom left. Burki, at full stretch, fingertips brilliantly around the post. Monaco don’t get the corner, much to Mbappe’s chagrin.
68 min: Falcao’s miss was his last contribution this evening; he’s replaced by Dirar. But his goal tonight was his 45th in 50 European appearances, which is some rate of scoring. He’s put in a shift.
67 min: Dembele embarks on a George Bestesque left-to-right diagonal dribble which very nearly opens up into a shooting chance. Eventually he looks to pull the ball back for Reus, but it’s cut out by Jemerson and cleared. Then another phase of attack, and Schmelzer creams a shot straight at Subasic from 25 yards.
65 min: Falcao should have wrapped this up! A simple long ball by Glik sends him clear down the inside-right channel. He stops on the edge of the area, sits Ginter down with a drop of the shoulder and a shuffle inside, chips the advancing Burki ... and sends the ball sailing over the bar.
63 min: Schmelzer earns Dortmund another corner down the right. The set piece is poor, allowing Mbappe to tear off up the left wing. He’s stopped in unpretentious fashion by Papastathopoulos. At first it looks like a cynical block, with Dortmund very light on numbers at the back. But the referee waves play on, a good decision regarding an honest 50-50 clatter.
61 min: An increasingly rare attack by Monaco, as Lemar digs out a cross from the left. Falcao meets it with another diving header, but Papastathopoulos is pressurising from behind and his effort flies wide left.
60 min: Falcao clumsily hacks down Kagawa, the Dortmund man otherwise going nowhere down the left. But this is now a chance to load the box. Reus takes the free kick, but fails to clear the first man. Not so good. Dortmund were making this easy for Monaco in the first half. Not so now.
58 min: Aubameyang wins a corner off Jemerson down the right. Guerreiro whips a delightful cross over the front of the six-yard box. The ball clanks off the back of Toure and very nearly drops to Aubameyang by the far post. But the striker can only help it on out for a goal kick.
57 min: Another storming run by the absurdly talented Dembele. He drifts in from the right and is inches away from releasing Aubameyang into the area with a sliderule pass down the middle. Glik’s telescopic intervention saves the day for Monaco.
55 min: Schmelzer is given far too much time down the left to pick a pass. He shuttles the ball forward for Reus, who uncharacteristically hesitates upon entering the area. That allows Toure to come across and block an eventual cross-cum-shot, and the ball clanks back off Reus and out for a goal kick. Monaco are suddenly looking nervous, though, with Dortmund dictating the play for the first time this evening.
52 min: Yes, Monaco have certainly been shaken into action after conceding. First Falcao flashes a header wide left from the edge of the area, then Mbappe is nearly sent scampering clear by a through ball. Burki comes out to claim. Already a sense that this could turn into a basketball match. Certainly until we find out who scores the next goal.
50 min: Monaco, shocked awake, come back at Dortmund. First Mbappe causes all manner of bother down the inside-left channel. He can’t quite get a shot away. And then from a corner, Toure beats Papastathopoulos to a header from 12 yards, and nearly finds the top right. Burki tips over, and resulting set piece comes to nothing.
GOAL! Monaco 2-1 Borussia Dortmund (Reus 48); agg 5-3
What a run by Dembele! He eats up half of the pitch down the right with a ball-on-string dribble, beating Mendy all ends up. He tears towards the byline, then pulls a ball into the centre for Reus, who roofs a shot into the top right from ten yards! It’s not on, is it? It could be on!
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47 min: Dortmund need something soon, and they come flooding towards Monaco with purpose. Kagawa has options left and right, but opts to thread a shot towards the bottom left from 25 yards. It’s easily gathered by Subasic.
And we’re off again! Monaco get the ball rolling for the second half. Dortmund have made a second change: Sahin is replaced by Schmelzer, who takes over at left back, with Guerreiro pushing further forward.
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Half-time reading: In case you missed this masterpiece by Daniel Harris, be about your business, clickety click. You won’t regret it, promise. Warning: some readers may be offended by the phrase “He was an absolute fucking bampot.”
HALF TIME: Monaco 2-0 Borussia Dortmund (agg 5-2)
And that’s that for the first half. Monaco were threatening to rattle up a cricket score, and you wouldn’t rule out their scoring another couple of goals. But Dortmund dug in, and since the introduction of Ousmane Dembele, have looked pretty dangerous on occasion themselves. Also, how Nuri Sahin’s free kick stayed out is a question for the scientists. But the visitors need three goals in the second half simply to survive. We’ve seen some comebacks in the Champions League this season; this would be right up there.
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45 min: Mbappe sends Mendy into more space down the left. Dortmund all over the shop again. But this time the offside flag saves them.
43 min: Pizczek rolls a glorious pass down the right flank for Dembele, who takes a touch at high speed, enters the box, and runs out of pitch before he can dig out a cross. Dortmund have been so much better since the introduction of Dembele; hats off to Thomas Tuchel for recognising his initial selection error. A brave switch ... but was it too late?
41 min: Kagawa buys a free kick off a clumsy Silva, just to the left of the Monaco D. Reus looks for the top left with the free kick, but Subasic is behind it all the way.
40 min: Dembele again lights a fuse, gliding in from the right. He finds Kagawa on the edge of the box. Kagawa switches play to the left, where Guerreiro is free by the corner of the six-yard box. He should shoot, and probably would score, but elects to sidefoot a cross towards Reus in the middle. Bad decision. It’s hacked clear.
38 min: The brilliance of Dembele nearly opens Monaco up. He cuts inside from the right, slipping past two challenges and exchanging passes with Kagawa. Dembele’s suddenly central, 30 yards out, and fires a lovely low forward pass to Reus, just inside the area. But time is a factor and Reus can’t get a shot away. A lovely move, though.
36 min: Kagawa slides a fine pass down the inside-left channel to send Aubameyang clear of a high Monaco line. But the pass was delayed, and the striker went too early, and the flag went up. Aubameyang wears a look of great frustration.
33 min: Now Mbappe should be sent scampering away down the left, but Mendy somehow finds Reus. Dortmund are leaving themselves exposed again and again, though given they require three goals simply to force extra time, they’ve probably got little choice.
31 min: Dembele is already making his presence felt. Another charge down the left, and this time he’s dragged back by Moutinho. A free kick, and a chance to load the box. But the delivery was hopeless. Monaco break upfield, three on two, and Silva should send Mbappe clear down the right. He plays what should be a simple pass straight at Guerreiro, and once again Dortmund escape.
30 min: Dembele picks up possession 30 yards out on the left, and very nearly finds Aubameyang in the middle with a clever chipped cross. But Jemerson claps a clearing header upfield.
28 min: Lemar begins a run from deep in his own half on the left. He plays a long-range one-two with Mbappe, and reaches the corner flag. He crosses towards Falcao, who is once again in space, six yards or so from goal. But the ball is a couple of inches too high. Monaco were so close to a third there. That would have been a peach. But the visitors are offering very little resistance.
26 min: A disappointed Durm is hooked for Dembele, who was something of a surprise omission in the first place. Durm doesn’t look particularly happy about it.
24 min: It’s fizzed low, towards the near post. Bakayoko flicks it on. Durm, facing his own goal, swings a leg in panic and nearly shins one into his own net. It flies off to the left of goal, and the second corner from that side, by Moutinho, is way too long.
23 min: Moutinho Cruyff Turns his way into space down the right and very nearly releases Mbappe on goal. The striker settles for a corner. From which ...
21 min: Mbappe and Falcao try to one-two their way down the middle of the park. They very nearly open Dortmund up again. Monaco are in full Sashay Mode right now.
19 min: Not sure what Ginter was doing there. He gave Falcao far too much space, allowing Lemar to pick him out with ease. Burki had no chance. Dortmund are all over the shop, and you have to wonder whether the 22-minute delay to get into the stadium has understandably affected them.
GOAL! Monaco 2-0 Borussia Dortmund (Falcao 17); agg 5-2
It’s astonishing all right! Lemar exchanges passes with Mbappe on the left-hand edge of the Dortmund box. He pitching wedges a chip into the centre, where Falcao hovers and dispatches a diving header into the bottom right!
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16 min: Dortmund pass it around the middle of the park in the pretty style. I suppose that counts as a lull. This match has been astonishing so far.
14 min: Glik drags down Aubameyang as the pair tussle under a high ball to the right of the Monaco D. Free kick in a very dangerous position. Sahin takes, and clatters an astonishing effort towards the top right, off the inside of the angle, across the face of goal and away! How on earth did that brilliant free kick stay out?! It was a couple of millimetres away from perfection.
13 min: Monaco come straight back at Dortmund. Toure crosses from the right. Falcao stoops at the near post but can’t contort his body to guide a header on target. It flies wide right. Then Mendy makes good down the left again. He crosses deep. Silva, coming in from the other side, batters a downwards header towards the bottom left but Burki gathers.
11 min: Mandy is causing a lot of trouble down the left. Another dangerous cross, this time a high one, and Ginter has to eyebrow clear with Falcao in the immediate environs.
9 min: Subasic, dealing with a backpass, tries to sell Aubameyang a dummy. He drops a shoulder and nearly has the ball stolen from him. He gets away with that one. But that gives Dortmund succour. First Reus swings a cross into the Monaco box from the left. Then Durm whips one in from the right. Both are cleared, but the visitors come again. Durm is found in space on the right. He slips a ball inside for Reus, who slams an instant shot goalwards from the penalty spot. It’s straight at Subasic, who gathers. Much better from the visitors.
7 min: Dortmund are pulled this way and that by Mendy down the left. He reaches the corner and fires low towards the near post. Falcao nearly gets a toe to the ball, but some very determined holding off by Ginter, followed by a boot clear, negates the danger. But if Dortmund keep on like this, the tie could be out of sight soon.
5 min: A fine run by Mendy, that, and such a cool finish by the astonishing Mbappe. But frankly appalling goalkeeping by Burki. Dortmund look visibly rattled.
GOAL! Monaco 1-0 Borussia Dortmund (Mbappe 3); agg 4-2
No, this didn’t take long. Mendy goes on a power romp down the inside-left channel. He unleashes a rising drive from 25 yards. Burki parries. The ball drops in front of him, breaking to Mbappe, who opens his body and sidefoots cleverly into the bottom left. What a start!
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And we’re off! Dortmund get the ball rolling. In the stand, Marc Bartra is here to watch his team-mates, lovely to see. And within 30 seconds, he’s watching Reus breaking into the Monaco box down the left. He’s in an awful lot of space, so much that he seems to hesitate with surprise. The ball’s whipped off him, and Monaco go up the other end through Toure down the right. Toure whips a cross into the box. Burki claims with Falcao lurking. That was on the 57-second mark. Not even a minute on the clock, and both teams have looked threatening in attack, and not particularly adept at the back. Tee hee! [MBM writer rubs hands in anticipation]
The teams are out! Monaco in their famous red-and-white sash, Dortmund their storied bright yellow. The atmosphere at the small Stade Louis II is magnificent, helped along by a rendition of the BVB anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone, a nice touch by Monaco and their fans. Plenty of smiles as Dortmund go along the line shaking hands; hopefully they’ll have relaxed now after tonight’s unwelcome delay. We’ll be off in a minute!
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While we’re waiting, a reminder of how the first leg panned out. Kylian Mbappe, some talent huh.
Dortmund had to wait on their bus for 22 minutes, in fact, while the police ran a few special checks on the vehicle. So the kick-off has been delayed by five minutes. That’s not ideal preparation at all for poor Dortmund, who will have been put through the emotional wringer again.
Thomas Tuchel insisted his players had put the events of last week behind them, but their journey tonight might have understandably got the nerves jangling again. It seems local police kept Dortumnd on their team bus for a full 20 minutes before they were allowed into the stadium. No reason has been given why. Those 20 minutes will have seemed like hours. The team are on the pitch now, warming up. A few furrowed brows among the players. Certainly not too many relaxed, smiling faces.
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The hosts Monaco make two changes to the team sent out to contest the first leg at the Westfalenstadion last week. Benjamin Mendy replaces Andrea Raggi, who drops to the bench, while Tiemoue Bakayoko comes in for the suspended Fabinho.
The visitors make three changes to last week’s starting XI. Erik Durm, Nuri Sahin and Marco Reus step up, while Sven Bender, Marcel Schmelzer and Ousmane Dembele step down to the bench.
Tonight's teams
Monaco: Subasic, Toure, Glik, Jemerson, Mendy, Bakayoko, Moutinho, Silva, Lemar, Falcao, Mbappe.
Subs: Sanctis, Jorge, Dirar, Germain, Raggi, Cardona, N’Doram.
Borussia Dortmund: Burki, Ginter, Papastathopoulos, Durm, Piszczek, Kagawa, Weigl, Sahin, Reus, Guerreiro, Aubameyang.
Subs: Weidenfeller, Bender, Dembele, Pulisic, Merino, Castro, Schmelzer.
Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia).
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Good evening!
The 2017 Champions League quarter-final between Borussia Dortmund and Monaco will always be associated with the shocking attack on the BVB team bus before the first leg. But the bombers don’t get to dictate the whole story, and what will also be remembered is: Dortmund’s outstanding bravery in playing the postponed match 24 hours later; the defiance of Marc Bartra, looking upon his injured wrist with “pride, thinking that all the damage they wanted to do to us stayed in this”; the Dortmund fans offering Monaco supporters beds for the night; the Monaco supporters joining the Dortmund fans in a heartwarming chorus of You’ll Never Walk Alone. Friendship and humanity trump divisiveness and terror yet again. Funny how these things never pan out the way the perpetrators want.
“It’s out of our system ... we’re more stable emotionally ... we’re ready and focused.” Thomas Tuchel is looking forward, so let’s do that too. The Dortmund coach is “confident” that his team can overturn their 3-2 first-leg deficit in this return at the Stade Louis II. “All that happened last week has made us stronger. Now we have to play well and I’m convinced we can do that. We’re ready and focused. We know it will be very tough, but we have the energy and confidence we need to get a result.”
It’ll be tough all right, because history is not on their side. Only twice in Champions League history have a team come back from a first-leg home defeat to win the tie: Ajax did it against Panathinaikos in the 1995-96 semis, while Internazionale did a similar number on Bayern Munich in the 2010-11 round of 16. In addition, Monaco have won all 12 of the European ties in which they’ve won the first leg away, while Dortmund have lost all five in which they’ve lost the first leg at home.
Monaco are also in hot form. They’ve won ten of their last 11 matches, with striking sensation Kylian Mbappé having scored 15 goals in his last 15 appearances. But Dortmund will be buoyed after their weekend win over Eintracht Frankfurt, which ended a two-game losing streak. The influential Marco Reus is back from injury, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang used to ply his trade around these parts, and you know how those stories sometimes pan out.
The hosts are favourites to reach their first semi-final since 2004, a year they went on to reach the final. But with both teams sparkling in attack, and neither particularly dependable at the back, anything could happen tonight. Just ask Manchester City. This could be a classic, and yet another reason to remember this quarter final for the right reasons. It’s on!
Kick off: 7.45pm UK time, 8.45pm local in Monaco, 8.45pm back in Dortmund.
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