Posted in Borussia Dortmund, champions league, Chelsea

Marathon goal drops Chelsea in the stronghold of Dortmund

 February 15, 2023

Goals: Borussia Dortmund – Chelsea FC – Played on 02/15/ 2023

Borussia Dortmund won its match against Chelsea, 1-0, today, Wednesday, in the first leg of the Champions League final.

The only goal of the match was scored by German Karim Adeyemi from a solo effort, after a marathon start during which he overtook Enzo Fernandez and Kepa Arrizabalaga, before putting the ball into the net in the 63rd minute.

Thus, Dortmund needs to avoid losing the return match at Stamford Bridge, next March 7, to qualify for the quarter-finals.

Control was condemned from the start by Dortmund, who relied in the first minutes on a large number of quick short passes between its players in the attacking third on, without reaching dangerous opportunities against goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

In the 16th minute, Chelsea startled the landlords by shaking the net from the first opportunity, after Reece James executed a free kick from the left side, which Thiago Silva met with his hand, but the referee counted a violation against him and gave him a yellow card.

Dortmund had a golden opportunity to advance with a goal after Marius Wolf received a through ball, to launch the ball into the penalty area, but he slowed down and failed to direct it into the net before the Blues’ defense intervened.

And with the ball reaching Haller in the dangerous areas for the first time, he fired a powerful shot near the visitors’ goal, to settle into the net from the outside.

And a ball rebounded from Dortmund’s defense to Joao Felix inside the penalty area, to prepare it for himself and fire a shot, which was returned by goalkeeper Gregor Coppel, before it became clear that there was an offside on one of the Chelsea players.

Felix launched a quick attack, sending a pass to Ziyech, who returned it to him again while he was uncontrolled inside the penalty area, but the Portuguese striker slammed the ball over the bar very strangely.

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The response came in a similar way from Dortmund, after a silk pass reached Ademi on the edge of the Blues penalty area, to meet it with a powerful shot that passed over the crossbar.

Chelsea almost took the lead from a quick rebound, which Havertz finished with a pass towards Felix, who hit the crossbar hard, to miss the opportunity for a goal for the guests.

Brandt prepared a ball for his colleague Wolf on the borders of the Chelsea penalty area, to be met by the latter with a powerful shot that passed near the left post, after which the first half ended with a goalless draw.

The first minutes of the second half saw the referee award a free kick to the Blues on the edge of the Dortmund penalty area, which James executed perfectly, but Copil’s skill in tackling it prevented the ball from reaching the net.

Kiba responded to his Swiss counterpart by blocking a creeping ground shot fired by Brandt, before Enzo Fernandez tried from afar, and the ball settled in Copil’s arms.

Copil continued to defend his goal with a wonderful save for Loftus-Cheek’s shot from outside the penalty area, turning the ball into a corner.

A few seconds later, Adeyemi launched a quick counterattack alone, to confront Enzo and pass him very quickly, before Kiba skillfully dodged and put the ball into the net, scoring the lead for Dortmund.

In the following minutes, Chelsea pressed Dortmund, intensifying its attacks in order to equalise, but the German defense was steadfast in the face of most attempts, while Copil ensured that the rest were tackled, most notably a creeping ground shot from Felix.

Coulibaly almost equalized the score for the London team with a powerful shot from inside the penalty area, but Copil was on the lookout for her before the ball passed him and Emre Chan caught it, to valiantly remove it from the goal line.

The Dortmund goalkeeper continued to express himself strongly with his wonderful save to Enzo Fernandez’s powerful shot, turning the ball into a corner before the referee blew the final whistle after which the home owners won.

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