Borussia Dortmund achieved a valuable 3-0 away victory against Sporting Lisbon in the first leg of the Champions League setting one foot into the round of 16.
Sporting had the better chances in a quiet first half but the game changed when Dortmund worked out that crosses were the way to unlock the Portuguese team’s defense although it gave in no goals until the second half.
“The first half was tense, but in the second half, we increased our pace, which allowed us to control the ball well, create good spells of play, and the goals we scored were fantastic.” Niko Kovac, Dortmund’s head coach
Borussia Dortmund scored the first goal in the 60th minute by Serho Girassi, and in the 68th minute Pascal Groz scored the second goal.
As if this was not enough, Borussia went ahead and scored the third goal in the 82nd minute through Karim Adimi.
On the other hand, Sporting Lisbon club players tried to threaten Borussia Dortmund’s goal in some opportunities, but luck was not next to them to score any goal during the match events.
“We weren’t very proactive and we lost our collective balance. We let the game become the way Borussia like it, with space to run into in the final third. We can’t be like that against these teams. In the Champions League, we need to be at 200% and we’re not even at 100%.” Sporting coach Rui Borges said.
With this precious victory, Borussia Dortmund strengthens its chances of qualifying for the round of 16 of the Champions League as Sporting will have a lot of homework to be done.
