DORTMUND:
A long-field goal from Borussia Dortmund Forward Karim Adeyemi helped his team to a 1-0 win over Chelsea on Wednesday, putting them in the box seat to qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals.
Adeyemi’s goal came in a period of momentum for the visitors early in the second half, with the German pouncing on a clearance from a Chelsea corner.
Adeyemi sensed an opening and ran the length of the pitch, rounding Enzo Fernandez and goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to give Dortmund the lead in the first tie.
Dortmund captain Jude Bellingham told German TV that when Adeyemi found himself in space “there aren’t many players who can stop him.”
“It was hard to get here in the beginning – finding his feet – but now he’s flying.”
After the match, Adeyemi praised his team’s determination to fight for giving them a chance ahead of March’s return to London.
“I had a bit of luck, but I’m very happy with the goal,” he said.
“Everyone fought for everyone else – (the win) was so important to come back.”
Manager of Chelsea Graham Potter praised the performance of his team but was saddened by the lack of goals.
“We were close to scoring ourselves. They lost to us. It’s not fun, we have to do better.
“We’ve got a team going, we know there’s a lot of good stuff there.”
The win means Dortmund only need a draw in London to progress to the quarter-finals for the second time in the last four years.
While Potter is still working on how to get his team of rookies to work as a team, the quality and speed of the visitors on the counter was remarkable.
Mykhailo Mudryk’s pace troubled the home side early on and forced Dortmund centre-back Niklas Suele into a late save in the 15th minute.
It wasn’t long before Chelsea attacked again through Mudryk, who won a free kick on the left side of the penalty area.
Chelsea found the ball in the back of the net through Thiago Silva from a free kick but the home side were swarmed by referee Jesus Gil Manzano in protest.
A VAR review showed that the Chelsea captain had deliberately handled the cross and Silva was immediately booked.
Julian Brandt and Bellingham of Dortmund continued to lead the attacks as the home team dominated, which made them vulnerable to Chelsea’s attacks.
The best chance of the opening half fell to Chelsea’s Joao Felix, who tackled Dortmund’s Marius Wolf in the box to give him the chance to shoot. , but his effort hit the post.
Wolf almost put Dortmund in front close to half-time when Brandt shrugged off a defender to put him in a position just inside the penalty area, but his curling shot went wide.
Chelsea dominated the start of the second half, forcing Dortmund midfielder Emre Can to a yellow after he brought down Reece James.
Goalkeeper Gregor Kobel saved the free kick to relieve the pressure.
James and Kobel went at it again after 60 minutes, this time in the opener, but the Swiss again put his shot over the bar.
Chelsea’s corner was circled around in the box and despite a different flag, the referee made the clearance after clearing the ball into the path of Adeyemi.
The German forward, who was officially recognized as the fastest player in Bundesliga history in February, kicked the ball past Fernandez forwards and Kepa, slotting the ball into the box. the goal from a dangerous angle.
Chelsea’s goal looked certain in the 78th minute when Kalidou Koulibaly’s shot was flicked on goal, but Can intervened to clear the danger, clearing the ball to safety before crossing the line.
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