Atletico take revenge as Borussia Dortmund lose for the first time under Favre

Manuel Veth –

Atletico Madrid v Dortmund saw the two favourites of Group A go against each other for the second time in two weeks. Atletico Madrid were soundly beaten 4-0 by Dortmund a fortnight ago and today they got their revenge beating Dortmund 2-0 at home.

• Dortmund suffer first defeat of the season
• Atletico out-counter the Black and Yellows
• Antoine Griezmann wins man of the match

Atletico Madrid v Dortmund 

Goals: 1-0 (Saul Niguez, 35′), 2-0 (Antoine Griezmann, 80′)

Atletico Madrid were out for revenge playing aggressive football from the very beginning. Pressing Dortmund deep into their half Atleti had the first chances with Antoine Griezmann (10′) and Angel Correa (14 and 22′) testing Dortmund keeper Roman Bürki early on.

Despite having 66% ball possession at the halfway stage of the first half, Dortmund found it tough to get out of their half and put any pressure on the Madrid-based club. Atletico were happy to give the Yellow and Blacks the ball and break forward quickly when gaining possession.

In the 35′ minute Madrid took the lead in that fashion. Breaking forward quickly Atleti managed to get several players into Dortmund’s box, and the ball would eventually end up with Saul Niguez, his shot from close-range was deflected by defender Manuel Akanji, who came too late to prevent the goal.

Atleti were not done there and created further chances, Thomas (37′), Felipe Luis (38′), Correa (40′), and Nikola Kalinic (43′) had further chances to run up the score. At that stage, Dortmund were rattled like a price boxer that had received too many shots to the head and were happy when they were rescued by the halftime whistle.

Dortmund were better to contain Atletico to start the second half. But at the same time, the Yellow and Blacks struggled to produce anything tangible up front. Atleti, in the meantime, were happy to sit back absorbing the pressure without creating too much offensively.

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It took until the 62′ minute until we saw the first chance of the second half. Once again it was Atletico’s Correa. The winger broke through on the right, and his shot was just wide of the target. That might have woken Dortmund up because in the 64′ they finally had their first chance with Raphaël Guerreiro’s header missing the goal from just three yards out after a perfect cross from Paco Alcacer.

That was the last chance of the match until the 80′ minute when Atleti doubled their lead. Dortmund tried to stamp their control on the match and Madrid used the room created in Dortmund’s defence. Thomas broke forward and spotted Griezmann at the centre of the pitch, the Frenchman escaped Dortmund’s defence and beat Bürki with a wonderfully placed shot from just ten yards out.

It was the knockout punch for the Yellow and Blacks. Dortmund continued to press high up the field but today lacked the creativity to find the goal that would have gotten them back into the match.

Atletico Madrid v Dortmund  – Man of the Match

Antoine Griezmann was the man of the match. The Frenchman was unplayable at times and scored the second goal of the game. He also won five of his eight duels and was also sound defensively winning three of his three tackles. Overall, an incredible performance by Atletico Madrid’s key player.

Atletico Madrid v Dortmund – Antoine Griezmann of Atletico Madrid celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during the Group A match of the UEFA Champions League between Club Atletico de Madrid and Borussia Dortmund at Estadio Wanda Metropolitano on November 6, 2018, in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)

Atletico Madrid v Dortmund  – Talking Point

Dortmund are finally beaten and rightly so. Lucien Favre’s men could never find a way into the match as Atlético Madrid shut down Dortmund’s attack without any problems. Dortmund had 69% ball possession but could not figure out what to do with the ball in the final third as Atletico easily shut down the attacking channels in which Reus, Sancho and Co. could play the ball into. Paco Alcacer on top was completely isolated, and as a result, Dortmund managed not a single shot on target.

Atletico Madrid v Dortmund  – Match Stats

• Saul’s opening goal was the first that Dortmund had conceded in this season’s Champions League campaign.
• Dortmund lose their first competitive match under Lucien Favre this season.
• Lukasz Piszczek made his 44th Champions League for Dortmund today – pulling level with Stefan Reuter, who held the record for the most Champions League appearances with the Black and Yellows.

Atletico Madrid v Dortmund  – Line-ups

Atlético Madrid:

Formation: 4-1-3-2

Oblak – Filipe Luis, Hernandez, Gimenez (Montero, 46′), Juanfran – Rodrigo, Thomas – Correa (Vitolo, 83′), Saul Niguez – Kalinic (Gelson Martins, 62′), Griezmann

Coach: Diego Simeone

Borussia Dortmund:

Formation: 4-1-4-1

Bürki – Hakimi, Toprak, Akanji, Piszczek – Delaney, Witsel – Sancho (Bruun Larsen, 79′), Reus, Pulisic (Guerreiro, 60′) – Paco Alcacer (Götze, 73′)

Coach: Lucien Favre

Manuel Veth is the owner and Editor in Chief of the Futbolgrad Network. He also works as a freelance journalist and among others works for the Bundesliga and Pro Soccer USA. He holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in History from King’s College London, and his thesis is titled: “Selling the People’s Game: Football’s transition from Communism to Capitalism in the Soviet Union and its Successor States,” which is available HERE. Originally from Munich, Manuel has lived in Amsterdam, Kyiv, Moscow, Tbilisi, London, and currently is located in Victoria BC, Canada.  Follow Manuel on Twitter @ManuelVeth.