Both searching for their first Champions League Group F win at the second attempt, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan pit their wits against one another at the Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday…CONTINUE READING...CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
Edin Terzic’s men fell to a 2-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on matchday one, while the Rossoneri were left to rue a string of wasted chances in a 0-0 draw with Newcastle United.
Match preview
With the walls of the Parc des Princes fortress coming under siege in 2023, a handful of teams have walked away from PSG’s turf with famous wins to write home about, but Dortmund were unable to join that exclusive club as they succumbed to Les Parisiens’ superiority a fortnight ago.
Just four minutes into the second half, Niklas Sule’s handball presented Kylian Mbappe with the opportunity to stroke home from 12 yards, before former Dortmund wing-back Achraf Hakimi condemned his old employers to an opening two-goal defeat before the hour mark.
Defeat in the French capital snapped a 13-game unbeaten run across all competitions for BVB, who occupy last place in the Group F rankings with plenty of continental football left to be played, and they have responded to their opening Champions League setback with a pair of Bundesliga triumphs over Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim.
Despite a foolish red card to Ramy Bensebaini against Hoffenheim, as the left-back kicked the ball away while already on a yellow, Niclas Fullkrug’s maiden BVB goal, Marco Reus’s improvised effort and a sensational solo run from Julian Ryerson prolonged Dortmund’s unbeaten streak domestically, putting them fourth in the fledgling Bundesliga table.
However, with Andrej Kramaric also making the net ripple from 12 yards, Dortmund welcome Milan to their turf with just one clean sheet to boast from their last six contests, although home shut-outs are commonplace in the Champions League; the German giants have shipped just one goal in their last five continental games at Signal Iduna Park.
Chance after chance came and went for Milan during their battle with Champions League returnees Newcastle two weeks ago, as Stefano Pioli’s men could not defeat their own profligacy, dogged Magpies defending or Nick Pope heroics to begin their European adventure in perfect fashion.
A total of 25 chances was not enough for Milan to wear their English counterparts down, but as has been the case with Dortmund, the Rossoneri have rectified those European errors with a string of stellar domestic results, triumphing in each of their last three Serie A contests.
During Saturday’s visit of Lazio, the San Siro faithful witnessed another goalless first half, but two Rafael Leao cutbacks for Noah Okafor and Christian Pulisic did the damage in the second 45 minutes, keeping the second-placed Rossoneri level on points with neighbours Inter Milan at the summit.
The 0-0 draw with Newcastle represents the only time this season that Pioli’s troops have failed to make the net bulge, but owing to their relatively uneventful knockout affairs last year, Pioli’s men now have just two goals to show from their last 540 minutes of Champions League football – failing to score in each of their last three top-level continental contests.
Wednesday’s intriguing showdown will mark the first competitive meeting between Milan and Dortmund since the 2002-03 group stage, where the Rossoneri prevailed 1-0 in Germany thanks to a Filippo Inzaghi effort, before BVB earned revenge by the same scoreline at San Siro through Jan Koller…CONTINUE READING
Borussia Dortmund Champions League form:
L
Borussia Dortmund form (all competitions):
D D W L W W
AC Milan Champions League form:
D
AC Milan form (all competitions):
W L D W W W
