Barcelona edged Borussia Dortmund 3-2 on Wednesday, with substitute Ferran Torres delivering two decisive objectives within the last quarter-hour.
The win secured the Catalan facet a spot within the knockout section, leaving Dortmund to rue missed alternatives and defensive lapses.
Raphinha opened the scoring within the 53rd minute, calmly slotting dwelling after a pinpoint via ball from Dani Olmo.
However, Dortmund shortly leveled seven minutes later when Serhou Guirassy transformed a penalty, awarded after Pau Cubarsi’s clumsy shove within the field.
Torres, launched for the ineffective Robert Lewandowski, made a right away influence.
In the seventy fifth minute, he pounced on a rebound from Fermin Lopez’s volley, nudging Barcelona forward as soon as extra.
Yet Dortmund’s Guirassy struck again simply three minutes later, ending into an empty web after Pascal Gross set him up with a selfless cross.
The decisive blow got here within the eighty fifth minute. Lamine Yamal orchestrated a blistering counterattack, threading a cross to Torres, who overcame a poor first contact to fireside a low shot previous Gregor Kobel.
Dortmund’s hopes for a late equalizer had been dashed, with Nico Schlotterbeck’s harm within the dying seconds compounding their woes.
‘Pushed to the restrict’
Barcelona’s Dani Olmo praised Dortmund’s relentless effort, telling DAZN, “They’re a team that always pushes you to the limit. We played a great game and had our chances. We can leave satisfied.”
The victory propelled Barcelona into second place of their group, three factors behind leaders Liverpool, and firmly on monitor for direct qualification to the final 16.
Dortmund, in the meantime, suffered their first dwelling loss this season, dropping to ninth within the standings.
Goalkeeper Gregor Kobel lamented the group’s errors, saying, “We played a really good game, but we were too naive and simply gave away the goals we conceded.”
Tactical gambles
Dealing with accidents, Dortmund coach Nuri Şahın opted for youth and tempo, giving 18-year-old Julien Duranville his beginning debut and fielding Gio Reyna for the primary time this season.
The gamble practically paid off as Duranville’s blistering runs created early possibilities, together with a setup for Marcel Sabitzer, who blazed over the bar.
Raphinha induced complications for Dortmund’s protection from the outset, narrowly lacking an early tap-in earlier than misfiring on an open objective.
However, his composure shone via within the second half as he capitalized on Olmo’s completely weighted cross.
After Guirassy’s penalty equalizer, Dortmund grew assured however did not capitalize on essential moments.
Kobel made essential saves towards Olmo and Lopez, just for Torres to fit dwelling the rebound. Despite Gross’s help for Guirassy’s second objective, Dortmund’s protection faltered once more within the face of Barcelona’s swift counterattacks.
Adding to Dortmund’s frustration, center-back Nico Schlotterbeck was stretchered off with an ankle harm within the last moments. “I hope it’s not serious, but he was in pain,” captain Emre Can mentioned post-match.
City disaster
Manchester City’s struggles deepened with a 2-0 loss at Juventus, leaving Pep Guardiola’s facet perilously near elimination.
Dusan Vlahovic’s header and Weston McKennie’s beautiful volley sealed the win for the Italians.
Stuttgart delivered a 5-1 thrashing of Young Boys, scoring three objectives in 13 blistering minutes.
Enzo Millot, Chris Führich, and Josha Vagnoman had been among the many scorers, whereas Fabian Rieder’s three assists underscored a dominant show.
Young Boys’ Lukasz Lakomy devoted his early objective to teammate Meschack Elia, whose son tragically handed away earlier than the match.
In different motion, Bukayo Saka’s brace powered Arsenal to a 3-0 win over Monaco, AC Milan edged Red Star Belgrade 2-1, and Feyenoord triumphed 4-2 towards Sparta Prague.
Atletico Madrid defeated Slovan Bratislava 3-1, whereas Lille secured a dramatic 3-2 victory over Sturm Graz.
Source: www.dailysabah.com