Atletico hang on to secure narrow victory over Dortmund in first leg

Atletico Madrid successfully fended off a late resurgence from Borussia Dortmund to maintain a narrow advantage following the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

Under Diego Simeone’s guidance, Atletico made an explosive start at Estadio Metropolitano. Rodrigo de Paul capitalized on Ian Maatsen’s errant pass in the fourth minute, intercepting it to give Atletico the lead as Dortmund attempted to navigate through their aggressive press.

The visitors displayed palpable nervousness early on, and just as they seemed to settle into the game, another defensive lapse allowed wing-back Samuel Lino to receive Antoine Griezmann’s lofted pass and calmly score Atletico’s second goal.

Dortmund’s performance improved towards the end of the first half and again after halftime. However, a remarkable save from Gregor Kobel thwarted Lino’s close-range effort, denying him a second goal as he sneaked in at the back post.

Despite nearly being out of contention, Dortmund swiftly equalized when substitute Sebastien Haller swiftly turned to fire the ball into the near post.

This goal ignited a thrilling climax to the match. On his 500th appearance for Dortmund, Mats Hummels made amends for his earlier mistake by intercepting Angel Correa’s shot, denying Atletico a potential winning goal.

Shortly after, 19-year-old English winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens narrowly missed leveling the score when his powerful left-foot strike deflected off Cesar Azpilicueta and struck the crossbar.

In the dying moments of the game, Edin Terzic’s team came agonizingly close to equalizing as substitute Julian Brandt’s header met Julian Ryerson’s cross, only to rebound off the woodwork with Jan Oblak beaten.

Withstanding these late threats, Atletico holds a slight advantage heading into the second leg at Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion next Tuesday.

Dortmund overcome early wobble to stay in tie

When referee Marco Guida signaled the end of the match in Madrid, there was a mix of relief and frustration in abundance.

Dortmund may feel frustrated that their late surge failed to yield an equalizer, but there was also a sense of relief that they still have a chance to turn the tie in their favor.

During Atletico’s dominant first half display, it seemed unlikely that Dortmund would remain in contention. Alvaro Morata had already threatened before De Paul capitalized on Maatsen’s misplaced pass, which came under pressure from Kobel’s distribution.

The opportunities continued to arise, with Atletico constantly dispossessing the away side, demonstrating their relentless pressure.

“There were phases where they completely overpowered us in the duels,” Dortmund captain Emre Can told DAZN.

Lino’s goal came after Hummels and Nico Schlotterbeck got in each other’s way trying to clear a simple throw-in and Dortmund could only be thankful that numerous similarly sloppy moments were not punished.

“The first 30 minutes were not good enough. Often, at this level, it’s already over if you make so many mistakes,” Terzic added.

“But we didn’t accept that and still managed to show what we’re capable of.”

The introduction of Brandt helped Dortmund, for whom Jadon Sancho was sharp throughout, produce a much better showing in the second half, as did Atletico’s decision to sit off and defend their two-goal lead rather than push for the third.

Simeone’s reaction on the touchline suggested it was not necessarily the approach he wanted to see from his side, and when they did go back to the more intense pressing game on occasion, Dortmund looked vulnerable.

However, the third goal never arrived and the La Liga side were left to cling on to a victory that should have been secured long before.

“I’m not sure you can say we were superior, because in the second half they had the ball and pushed us back,” Griezmann told Movistar.

“There were moments when we could have scored a third but the truth is that we have suffered a lot in the second half.”

Relief and frustration in equal measure. For both sides. And another 90 minutes still to play.