Despite Brandt’s double pack
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Julian Brandt scores twice for Borussia Dortmund. But that’s not enough to win against the Norwegian runner-up Bodø/Glimt in the Champions League. Leverkusen takes the lead against Newcastle, but then falls behind. But shortly before the end, Alejandro Grimaldo strikes again.
Borussia Dortmund gave up a must-win in the Champions League. Against Bodø/Glimt, BVB couldn’t get past a 2:2 (1:1). Brandt had put the hosts in the lead twice (18th minute/51st), Haitam Aleesami (42nd) and Jens Petter Hauge (75th) each equalized.
Dortmund missed a big step towards direct qualification for the round of 16 and is eleven points outside the top eight, which will be spared two additional games in February. The Westphalians still have games at Tottenham Hotspur and against Inter Milan in January.
Reus will be BVB ambassador in the future
Before the game, most of the 81,365 spectators were excited. On his return from Los Angeles, 36-year-old Marco Reus was celebrated as a TV expert in front of the south stand. Reus, who is now active with LA Galaxy in the MLS, will in future act as an ambassador for his hometown club. BVB made this official during the game.
BVB initially dominated the game against the Norwegian runner-up from the small town of 43,000 inhabitants north of the Arctic Circle. The four personnel changes in Dortmund’s starting eleven compared to Sunday’s 2-0 win in the league against Hoffenheim were hardly noticeable.
Guirassy replacement Fábio Silva raises the alarm in the storm this time
In particular, Fábio Silva, who was given a chance to start in place of struggling striker Serhou Guirassy, raised the alarm in the attack. The Portuguese repeatedly put his teammates in the spotlight and gave Brandt the lead on a counterattack after just over a quarter of an hour. It was the 29-year-old’s 500th competitive game as a professional.
Just two minutes later, Maximilian Beier should have increased the score with a header after a nice pass from Silva, but he headed miserably wide of the goal. The 23-year-old replaced Karim Adeyemi, who was also initially spared this time. “This is load management. The boys have played a lot and this is an opportunity to give the other boys minutes,” said Kovac about his rotation, which also included Daniel Svensson and Marcel Sabitzer. Ramy Bensebaini and summer royal transfer Jobe Bellingham started.
Anton replaced after half an hour
Long-time player Svensson had to play again after half an hour because Waldemar Anton had to be replaced with a suspected thigh strain. At that point, Dortmund could have already led higher. Instead, Bodø equalized from a set piece because the BVB defense collectively slept after a short corner and central defender Aleesami was able to head in unchallenged from close range.
After the change, Dortmund’s dominance was even greater. At times the attacking game continued to seem too static. Brandt quickly increased the score again by steering a blocked Beier header over the line. BVB then carelessly gave the game away. Bringing in Guirassy and Adeyemi didn’t help either. The outsider equalized again with a short-term advantage. Aarón Anselmino had left the field injured, but Emre Can had not yet come on to replace him.
Without Hjulmand: Grimaldo saves Bayer from a draw
Without coach Kasper Hjulmand, Bayer Leverkusen missed out on their first home win of this Champions League season, but were saved from a draw thanks to a late goal from Grimaldo. The Bundesliga club fought to a 2-2 (1-0) draw against Newcastle United, led by the two German national players Nick Woltemade and Malick Thiaw, but missed out on their third win in a row in the premier class.
An own goal from Bruno Guimaraes (13th minute) gave the Werkself the lead in front of 30,210 spectators in the sold-out Leverkusen stadium. In the second half, a penalty from Anthony Gordon (51′) and a goal from Joker Lewis Miley (74′) turned the game in favor of the guests from the Premier League. In the 88th minute, Grimaldo scored the deserved equalizer.
Two game days before the end of the group phase, the Werkself now have nine points and can hope for the play-offs before the last two games at Olympiacos Piraeus and against Villarreal.
Hjulmand not there – own goal to take the lead
90 minutes before kick-off, Bayer 04 announced that head coach Hjulmand would be out “for personal reasons” and that assistant coach Rogier Meijer would take over. Bayer made three changes to the starting line-up compared to the defeat in Augsburg: Jarell Quansah, Arthur and the recently injured Grimaldo moved into the starting line-up for Loic Badé, Christian Kofane and Jonas Hofmann, who was not registered for the competition.
In the last Champions League appearance of the year, Leverkusen started with a wait-and-see attitude and initially left the ball to the guests. After around ten minutes, however, the home team increasingly took control and caused early celebrations: After a corner from Aleix Garcia to the second post, captain Andrich, who had returned after a two-game red card suspension, rose highest. His header deflected off Guimaraes’ back and landed unstoppably in the goal.
Newcastle becomes more powerful, Bayer with chances
After a foul on Patrik Schick by the Düsseldorf-born Thiaw just outside the penalty area – in which only the VAR conceded a penalty – the Werkself had the chance to extend their lead a short time later. But free kick specialist Grimaldo put the ball over the goal from around 16 meters (24th).
After a corner from Guimaraes, Leverkusen were lucky: After chaos in the penalty area, Woltemade narrowly missed the post (32nd). Goalkeeper Mark Flekken (36′) prevented a strike shortly later when Garcia directed the ball towards his own goal while trying to clear the ball.
Penalty brings the equalizer, Joker turns the game around
Shortly after the restart, Lewis Hall (48th) had the best chance for Newcastle so far, but he missed the post from a tight angle. Then Flekken made a mistake: he mishandled the ball against Woltemade and then brought him down in the penalty area. Gordon safely converted the penalty.
After the equalizer, Leverkusen increased the pressure, but when the English counterattacked, Flekken’s back saved after a shot from Gordon (63′). Hall deflected a dangerous opportunity from Poku on the other side over the goal (69′). But the goal fell on the other side: Bayer despaired of Gordon, who put Joker Miley in the center so that he headed it in to make it 2-1. But the Werkself didn’t give up and pushed for the equalizer, which Grimaldo scored with a low shot.