Borussia Dortmund beats Lille away from home and advances to the quarter-finals of the Champions League
Jonathan David opens the scoring and makes it all square on aggregate, but Beier and Emre Can secure Germany’s qualification
THE WALL IS IN THE WEDNESDAYS
Borussia Dortmund defeated Lille 2-1 on Wednesday in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16. The 3-2 aggregate win guarantees a place against Barcelona in the quarter-finals of the European competition. At the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille took the lead in the first half through Jonathan David and gave hope to the fans. However, Dortmund came out on top in the second half and secured qualification with goals from Beier and Emre Can .
KEEPING AN EYE ON THE NEXT PHASE
With Wednesday’s result, Borussia will face Barcelona in search of a place in the semi-finals, following the left side of the bracket. The classification will come from two matches, one at each team’s home ground, with dates and times to be defined later by UEFA.
RESPECT FOR RAMADAN
The match between Lille and Borussia Dortmund was stopped eight minutes into the first half so that Muslim players could eat. These players fast from sunrise to sunset as part of Ramadan, the holy period in Islam that runs from February 28 to March 30. The break also took place in Barcelona vs Benfica on Tuesday.
HOW WAS THE GAME?
Lille made the most of Pierre-Mauroy’s atmosphere, started pressing and opened the scoring four minutes into the first half. Brazilian Ismaily stole the ball in midfield in two tackles, carried it down the left side of the area and passed it into the middle. Jonathan David was one-on-one with the goal, surprised the goalkeeper and just tapped it into the net. The Germans’ comeback came after the break.
Six minutes into the match, Guirassy received a long ball inside the box and was brought down by Meunier. The referee awarded a penalty, and Emre Can kicked the ball high and into the middle, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance. Guirassy received the ball from Ryerson inside the box twelve minutes later and passed it to Beier in the middle. The number 14 cut onto his right foot and shot stylishly into the left corner of Chevalier’s goal. Lille came out full force, which opened up space in the defense. Both teams had good chances, but were stopped by the goalkeepers.
