The first half of the match undeniably belonged to Borrussia Dortmund. Klopps’ men were superior in nearly every aspect of the game. Despite Wenger have a healthy line-up and a strong midfield that included Mikel Arteta, Mesut Ozil, Jack Wilshire and Aaron Ramsey, Dortmund were able to play around them in tight spaces and expose gaps in-between them. Dortmund’s midfield pressed strongly and did not allow Arsenal to gain any pace in their attack. Their transitional play was absolutely on-point. As soon as they won a tackle, they were pushing and attacking and if they lost a ball, everyone would pick-up a man and pressed the ball to force mistakes.
Dortmund created a majority of the attack while Arsenal seemed to not even come close to the opposite end. It wasn’t until the last minute of the first half that Italian, Ciro Immobile, took the ball alone and with a bit of luck, was able to push the ball past Wojciech Szczesny to give the home side a well-deserved 1-0 lead.
Photo: Frank Augstein/AP
Dortmund entered the second half with the same momentum as the first. In the 48th minute a great ball over the top to Aubameyang from Grosskreutz made it easy for him to bury it.
Even after their early 2-0 lead, Dortmund continued to attack creating chances left and right while still frustrating Arsenals build-up. In total, Dortmund took 23 shots, 7 on target compared to Arsenal’s disappointing 5 shots, 1 on target. In the end, Dortmund took the crucial 3 points, while Arsenal go home having to readjust their game plan.
Despite a good match against Manchester City last Saturday, Arsenal could not find any rhythm and could not connect the passes they needed to reach the goal. The midifelders seemed to be trying their best, but Alexis Sanchez was not allowed to show any creativity by strong marking and Mesut Ozil displayed a sorry performance once again. Danny Welbeck was not able to touch the ball as much as he would like, but was probably the most offensive of the game. Gibbs could not make an impact on the wings except for one good lob-cross and youngster, Hector Bellerin, was out of position was was exploited by Dortmunds attack. The final result could have been worse had it not been for Szczesny’s composure. Arsenal will need to make sure that they are in great form to beat Galatasary and Anderlecht if they want to pass to the round of 16.
Jurgen Klopp’s men were disciplined throughout the entire match and played almost flawlessly. Dortmund’s attackers, Aubameyang, Mkhitaryan, Immobile and Grosskreutz all had fantastic performances as they continued to attack and defend tirelessly. Their back four, lead by Neven Subotic, allowed almost nothing to get past them. Dortmund will definitely make it to the round of 16 and may be a top contender as they were in 2013 when they reached the final. Klopp has proven time and time again that he can coach teams without having big names. Since their appearance in the final, Dortmund have lost stars, Mario Gotze, Shinji Kagawa (who has recently returned to the German Side) and Robert Lewandowski. Even in today’s match, Dortmund played without Kagawa, Mats Hummels and Marco Reus. When all three are healthy, opponents will only be that much more afraid.
Photo Credit: Frank Augstein/AP