An Erling Haaland brace led Borussia Dortmund to a 2-2 draw and 5-4 aggregate win over Sevilla that booked their place in the Champions League quarter-finals. (More Football News)
An Erling Haaland brace led Borussia Dortmund to a 2-2 draw and 5-4 aggregate win over Sevilla that booked a place in the Champions League quarter-finals.
An Erling Haaland brace led Borussia Dortmund to a 2-2 draw and 5-4 aggregate win over Sevilla that booked their place in the Champions League quarter-finals. (More Football News)
Leading 3-2 from the first leg, the hosts seemed to have put the tie to bed before the hour mark thanks to a poacher's strike and a penalty from their prolific number nine.
But Youssef En-Nesyri halved the deficit from 12 yards with over 20 minutes remaining and then set up a frantic finish to the game with a powerful header in the sixth minute of injury time.
However, Sevilla were unable to find another goal in the final seconds, crashing out of Europe as a result.
No doubt as a consequence of their aggregate advantage, Dortmund started the game cautiously.
Their approach was almost undermined after just three minutes, though, when a loose Emre Can pass allowed Lucas Ocampos to get a shot away that needed saving by Marwin Hitz.
Sevilla were effectively camped outside the hosts' box from that moment onward, forcing them to repel an almost ceaseless barrage of balls into the box.
But the Spaniards were struggling to make their dominance of the ball count and, somewhat inevitably, were made to pay just beyond the half-hour mark.
Thomas Delaney and Nico Schulz combined to dispossess Suso before Mahmoud Dahoud fed Marco Reus, whose pullback provided an easy finish for Haaland.
That meant Sevilla, who had made 304 passes and taken seven shots to their opponent's 172 and two respectively in the first half, trailed at the break.
Buoyed by their goal, Dortmund started the second period brightly, and looked to earn instant reward when Haaland finished off a flowing move by easing Diego Carlos aside and finding the back of the net from a tight angle.
While the Germans did eventually take the lead as part of that passage of play, it was only after a bizarre sequence of events.
A lengthy VAR review saw Haaland's goal disallowed for a shove but a penalty awarded for a shirt pull from Jules Kounde much earlier in the build-up.
Though the Norwegian could not beat Yassine Bounou with his spot-kick, play was again pulled back for the goalkeeper leaving his line, allowing for another attempt from 12 yards that nestled in the goal.
That strike put Dortmund 5-3 up and seemingly ended the tie, but it did not excuse Emre Can's inexplicable decision to hand Sevilla a penalty of their own for a push on Luuk de Jong in the box.
The German's nerves and that of his team-mates will have been jangling when En-Nesyri, who had dispatched the spot-kick in emphatic fashion, headed home a cross deep in injury time.
But Sevilla could not make the most of pinball in the box as Edin Terzic's men held on.
What does it mean?
Struggling in the Bundesliga, Dortmund might wonder if they have a chance of a shock Champions League win this season thanks to the goals of the talismanic Haaland.
As for Sevilla, they are left to reflect on the disappointment of being unable to bring their incredible knack for Europa League success to Europe's premier cup competition.
Haaland does it again
Dortmund doubtless owe their place in the last eight to Haaland, who became the first player to score twice in four consecutive Champions League games here.
The Norwegian did that from just two shots - proof of his deadliness - but also made more passes in the opposition half than any of his team-mates, and provided one key pass.
Can struggles in defence
He may have ended up on the winning side, but this was not a performance to write home about from Can.
The former Liverpool midfielder started the game by gifting possession to Ocampos in a dangerous area and did not get much better from there.
He gave away a penalty, picked up a yellow card, and completed just 71.4 per cent of his passes as part of a nervy individual showing.
Key Opta Facts
- Dortmund have reached the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 2017, while the German side are unbeaten in their last eight home games in the competition (W5 D3).
- Despite being eliminated, Sevilla are unbeaten in their last seven Champions League away games (W3 D4).
- Dortmund scored for the 34th game in a row in all competitions, a club record for finding the net in consecutive competitive matches.
- At 20 years and 231 days, Haaland is the youngest player to score in six consecutive Champions League matches.
What's next?
Dortmund's bid to climb the German top-flight table resumes when they face Hertha Berlin at home on Saturday.
As for Sevilla, they must look to end a four-game winless streak to keep their top-four hopes in La Liga on track, with the derby against Real Betis next up on Sunday.