Dortmund qualify for last 16 and pile pressure on AC Milan
Having recorded a pair of victories ‘to nil’ against Newcastle United on matchday three and four, Dortmund travelled to Milan sitting top of Group F, knowing a win would seal their place in the UCL knockout stages.
Despite that incentive, it was the hosts who came flying out the blocks, with referee István Kovács pointing to the penalty spot after just six minutes when Samuel Chukwueze’s close-range strike was blocked by the arm of Nico Schlotterbeck. Olivier Giroud assumed the responsibility from 12 yards, but the Frenchman’s weak effort was comfortably saved by Gregor Kobel.
Grateful for that reprieve, Dortmund were handed a penalty of their own just four minutes later, as Davide Calabria clumsily tripped Jamie Bynoe-Gittens in the area. Unlike Giroud, Marco Reus made no mistake, firing a clinical strike into the top-left corner to put the visitors ahead.
After a frantic opening quarter-hour, the match settled down into a more sedate rhythm as the first half progressed, and Milan found a deserved leveller eight minutes before the break, when Chukwueze cut inside from the right wing and lashed a fierce effort into the far corner.
The hosts looked to carry the momentum that goal created into the early stages of the second half, but it was Dortmund who regained the lead before the hour mark through Bynoe-Gittens, as he swept a low finish beyond Mike Maignan from inside the box.
Having already come from behind in the opening period, Milan went in pursuit of another equaliser with time ticking into the final 25 minutes, with more than an air of desperation starting to creep in as the likelihood of Milan finishing the night bottom of Group F increased by the minute.
In the end, that desperation was Milan’s undoing, as the visitors extended their lead in the 69th minute, when Maignan failed to deal with Karim Adeyemi’s strike from 20 yards.
That marked a first goal of the season for the German speedster, and the visitors ultimately coasted through the closing stages to seal their place in the UCL knockouts. As for Milan, they’ll be desperate to bounce back against Newcastle on matchday six as they look to snatch second place ahead of the Magpies and Paris Saint-Germain.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund)
