The first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals between Borussia Dortmund and Monaco which was played at the Signal Iduna Park proved to be an exciting affair laden with goals. It was the young French prodigy Kylian Mbappe who opened the scoring for the visitors in the 19th minute when he found the back of the net via a cross from the left side before Sven Bender headed one into his own goal in the 35th minute.
Dortmund, who looked rusty through the first half looked a better unit in the 2nd half and scored in the 57th minute via Ousmane Dembele. However, their hopes of securing a positive result were dashed by a brilliant goal from Mbappe in the 79th minute. While the die Schwarzgelben did score in the 84th minute via Kagawa, there was very little time left for them to eke out a positive result from the game.
Here are the 5 talking points from the game.
#1 Was the UEFA wrong in scheduling the match so soon?
One of the major talking points prior to the game was the decision of UEFA to get on with the game within 24 hours of the Borussia Dortmund bus being attacked. While thankfully none of the players endured any long term physical injuries, the trauma of being involved in something so horrific always has an effect on the players.
The Dortmund players looked jaded in the first half and needless to say many pundits and fans pointed out that the German club was at a disadvantage going into the game and questioned the decision of UEFA to ensure that the game is played so soon.
While the end of the season means that the footballing calendar gets hectic, both the teams would have been more than happy to reschedule the game for a later date after the events around Dortmund’s bus and we see no reason for why the UEFA could not have pushed the game further by a few days.
#2 A game of two halves
To say that the first half belonged to Monaco would be an understatement. The visitors on the night were direct in their approach and caused their hosts for the evening a lot of problems going forward. They constantly disrupted the rhythm of Thomas Tuchel’s side and were the better side in attack as well as in defence.
The French team that has surprised many with their performances this season showed great resolve through the first half and while they were lucky with both their goals, it was perhaps their reward for turning up for the big occasion.
However, their dominance of the game was severely threatened in the second half when Tuchel decided to introduce Christian Pulisic and Nuri Sahin. While Pulisic showed a great pair of feet to get into advantageous situations down the right flank for the hosts, Sahin played the part of being the team’s brains with perfection. It was perhaps the introduction of the two players that made the Dortmund fans believe that they could overturn the two-goal deficit.
However, it was not to be as the young Mbappe soon ended their hopes with a sublime finish.
#3 Kylian Mbappe should be the favourite for the Golden Boy award
Oh! What a revelation Kylian Mbappe has been this season! The 18-year-old French attacker, who broke into the Monaco first team last season has made it a habit of making headlines for his impressive performances and he put out another against Dortmund, helping side take the advantage going into the second leg.
While it looked like he had strayed offside for the first Monaco goal, his second goal was a reminder to the footballing fraternity about what an exciting prospect he is. The youngster picked up a loose pass from Lukasz Piszczek near the centre of the pitch and then left the Dortmund defenders looking at his heels.
However, with none of his teammates available to him as he approached the goal, Mbappe took it upon himself to fire it past Roman Burki with a sublime finish. In the process, he became the youngest ever player to score a brace in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League.
With 21 goals and five assists across all competitions, the 18-year-old is the hottest young talent in Europe and it would come as a shock to us if he does not pick up the Golden Boy award this season.
#4 Both the managers will be wary of the poor defensive performance
While the game between Dortmund and Monaco could be picked out as a fine exhibition of attacking football, both the managers, viz. Leonardo Jardim and Tuchel will be frustrated with their side’s inability to put in solid defensive performances.
It was the inability of Matthias Ginter, who was deployed as a right-back for Dortmund during the first half that led to the visitors’ second goal as he allowed Andrea Raggi to put in a cross that Sven Bender, unfortunately, headed into his own net. The German side’s misery was completed late in the game when Mbappe latched on to a loose ball from Piszceck and with the Dortmund defence maintaining a high line, there was no chance of them catching up to the brilliant youngster.
As for Monaco, they did not deal with the threat of Aubameyang appropriately early in the second half and allowed the Gabonese international to direct a brilliant pass into the path of Shinji Kagawa. The second Dortmund goal too came as a result of Monaco failing to stop Kagawa in the box despite the presence of numerous defenders.
#5 The tie remains in balance despite Monaco winning
Monaco might have won the 1st leg but it would be termed foolhardy to believe that they have all but secured a spot for themselves in this year's UEFA Champions League semi-finals. On their day, Dortmund can be one of the best attacking units in Europe and despite the game being played in their own yard, Monaco will be wary of backlash when the Germans travel to the French shores.
While the 3 away goals does tilt the tie in their favour, Monaco are not exactly a team known for their defensive discipline, having shipped 19 goals in the competition thus far. While both the teams have shown some great attacking ability thus far this season, we believe it will be their ability to put in a mature all-round performance in the second leg of the tie which will determine who proceeds to the semi-finals.
The first leg was a cracker of a game and we, like millions of fans worldwide cannot wait to catch up on the proceedings of the second leg. It will be a belter of a game amongst two of the best front lines in Europe.
