Newcastle beaten by Dortmund in crunch Champions League clash
Newcastle’s injury problems saw Eddie Howe throw the youthful Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall into the cauldron of Signal Iduna Park, with the latter enduring a tough start as he was booked for pulling back Niclas Füllkrug and awkwardly skewed the ball from Julian Brandt’s free-kick behind.
They still stood firm despite Die Schwarzgelben keeping up the heat, as Nick Pope was equal to efforts from Füllkrug and Karim Adeyemi in the opening quarter-hour.
However, Dortmund’s breakthrough eventually came in the 26th minute, when they reacted quicker to loose balls and Füllkrug linked up with Marcel Sabitzer, before providing the coolest of finishes for his first-ever goal in European club competition.
Newcastle responded well to the setback, although Fabian Schär’s tame header was comfortably held by Gregor Kobel, who then stretched to catch Joelinton’s more threatening effort moments before the break.
Miguel Almirón and Anthony Gordon were introduced ahead of the restart, and the Magpies got off to a promising start in the second act, despite the former sending an attempt wide as Newcastle’s siege mentality grew.
They continued pushing forward in search of an equaliser, but Joelinton headed wide from a brilliant Livramento cross, before Almirón saw a late effort bravely blocked.
But Dortmund still carried a threat despite Newcastle’s rejuvenated play, and Brandt forced Pope into some impressive saves at the other end.
And the midfielder finally bested Pope in the 79th minute to complete Dortmund’s double over the Tynesiders, latching onto Karim Adeyemi launched ball forward and working enough space from Livramento to finish.
Dortmund duly go top of Group F ahead of Paris Saint-Germain’s visit to AC Milan, leaving the well-beaten Newcastle with an uphill battle if they are to reach the UCL knockout stages.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Julian Brandt (Borussia Dortmund)
