Borussia Dortmund missed the great opportunity to return early to the circle of the European football elite. After the 1: 1 (1: 1) against FC Sevilla, the team of coach Edin Terzic is in a good starting position, but has not yet been able to qualify for the round of 16 of the Champions League as hoped. Ex-Munich Tanguy Nianzou (18th) gave the guests the lead on Tuesday evening in front of 81,000 spectators in Dortmund. Jude Bellingham (35th) equalized.
RB Leipzig, on the other hand, achieved an important victory for the minimum goal of the round of 16. The new sports director Max Eberl cheered on his surprise visit to the VIP stand, Timo Werner and Emil Forsberg silenced the euphoric fans in the atmospheric Celtic Park with their late goals. With the 2-0 (0-0) win at the Scottish football champions on Tuesday evening, the cup winners again have the best prospects of reaching the round of 16 of the Champions League.
After the draw, BVB is still challenged in the two remaining group games against Manchester City (October 25) and FC Copenhagen (November 2). Second in the table behind leaders Manchester City (10 points), who made it into the knockout stages with a dreary 0-0 draw at outsiders Copenhagen (2), Borussia (7) are five points ahead of Sevilla and the Danes.
Dortmund made an effort, but the change of coach had a positive effect on the Spaniards. Not only the 1.67 meter tall Jorge Sampaoli gave everything on the sidelines, his team also appeared transformed. Unlike in the first leg under Sampaoli predecessor Julen Lopetegui, the defensive was more stable this time. Even offensively, Sevilla became dangerous again and again. The Dortmunders got to feel that early and painfully. After a free kick from ex-Schalke player Ivan Rakitic, Nianzou scored the 1-0 with a header.
But BVB held against it. Despite the early deficit, Dortmund pressed the guests high and aggressively, which repeatedly led to ball wins. The compensation was deserved. With help from Thomas Meunier, Bellingham acrobatically shot the ball into the goal from close range.
In front of 60,000 spectators in the “Paradise” stadium, including Celtic’s noble fan and rock icon Rod Stewart, Leipzig remained harmless offensively for a long time before Werner, who had been unlucky until then, headed in (75th) and replaced Forsberg (84th) on the spot were.
After the 3-1 win in the first leg, the Saxons also won the second duel with Celtic. In the fight for second place, everything now boils down to a decision between Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Eberl had traveled to Scotland at short notice and individually. The 49-year-old, who only officially takes up his post as the new sporting director on December 15, watched a game at his new club live on site for the first time since his move was announced. The former manager of Borussia Mönchengladbach sat in the first row of the VIP stand right next to managing director Oliver Mintzlaff. Pictures of Eberl having a cigarette break in front of the team hotel had already been circulating on the Internet during the day.
