A devastating counter-attack from Karim Adeyemi just as Chelsea were at their best and saves from goalkeeper Gregor Kobel gave Borussia Dortmund a 1-0 win in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16.
After a balanced first half, Chelsea came out abrasive in the second, only to be punished with Adeyemi’s counter-attack and crashed again and again with Kobel whose last stop came in minute 95, for a shot from Enzo Fernández.
There was already a good approach to the Dortmund area in the first two minutes of the game followed by a Chelsea counter-attack that ended with a sweep in Nico Schlotterbeck’s area against Mudryk.
The first two scenes announced much of what would become the first half.
Dortmund tried to arrive in a controlled manner, with Julian Brandt and Jude Bellighman in charge, while Chelsea showed quick transitions that Joao Felix and Mudryk used to participate in.
Throughout the first half, Dortmund had more arrivals and more shots on target, but Chelsea had the best chance, with a shot from Joao Felix, which hit the crossbar in the 38th minute.
Joao Felix had another, in minute 32, when he shot over the top from a good position.
Dortmund also had some shots from good position and several close range situations that they could have made the most of.
After a fairly even first half, Chelsea came out dominant in the second half and had more than fifteen minutes in which they had Dortmund against the wall.
In that phase, Chelsea had two good chances, one from a Thiago Solve free-kick in minute 55 and another in minute 62 with a scoreless shot from James, then Gregor Kobel responded with a great save, sending the ball for a corner.
From the corner kick, and at the moment when Chelsea played their best, a counter-attack emerged that ended in a goal for Dortmund.
Raphael Guerreiro cleared the ball from the area and Karim Adeyemi covered almost the entire field with high speed. He arrived at the area where he left Enzo Fernández on the way and, once in the area, Kepa to score on an empty net.
After the goal, there was a phase where Chelsea’s pressure eased a bit, but then it returned and Kobel came back several times, in the 78th minute against Coulibaly finishing scoreless and at the last minute with an acrobatic save against Enzo Fernández.
The tie is still open with the narrow result, but Dortmund continue to count their matches for wins this year while Chelsea are not getting the results.
Source: El heraldo
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
