Nmecha fires the Black and Yellows to a 1-0 away win in Newcastle

Christina Reinke and Boris Rupert report 

An excellent atmosphere inside St. James' Park provided a great setting for the game. More than 50,000 enthusiastic fans from England and Germany – BVB had sold their entire away fan allocation of 3000 tickets – saw BVB bring the 1-0 lead given to them by Felix Nmecha over the finish line in the second half with a combative performance to seal their first victory in this season's Champions League.

The scenario:   
After a flattering 0-0 draw in the opener in Milan, Newcastle United had celebrated a 4-1 win over PSG on Matchday 1 and went into the game top of Group F on four points. Borussia Dortmund had only one point to their name after a 2-0 defeat in Paris and a 0-0 home draw with Milan and had still not managed to hit the back of the net in the competition. It was the first meeting of the two clubs.

Personnel matters:   
Youssoufa Moukoko was back in the squad after overcoming a thigh issue, but two key members of the team were missing: Julian Brandt had suffered a blow to his calf in the game against Werder Bremen and had to sit out the game, while Julian Ryerson missed the game due to an infection. They were replaced by Ramy Bensebaini and Marcel Sabitzer. They were the only two changes head coach Edin Terzic made to his starting eleven from last time out.

The match:
The fans saw the first big chance for Borussia Dortmund after just 68 seconds, but Donyell Malen was denied by the foot of Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope. Their focus immediately shifted to the other end, as Gregor Kobel was called into action in the Dortmund box for the first time to stop Anthony Gordon's shot which was heading towards the bottom-right corner of his goal in the second minute. In the tenth minute, Emre Can won the ball and Marcel Sabitzer brought it forward. He found Malen around the penalty spot, but his shot was too close to Pope, who parried. The rebound fell at the feet of Niclas Füllkrug, but he too was denied by the English shot-stopper. The opening stages were played at breakneck pace, and it was end to end. Just a minute later, Gordon cut inside from the left, but Kobel narrowed the angle. 

The busy Malen had his third shot of the game after a cross from Reus, but this time his effort sailed narrowly over the bar on 14 minutes. He had two more shots in the 19th and 26th minutes, but both were blocked. BVB were bold going forward and quick on transition after winning the ball, and their dominance was reflected in the statistics when it came to possession and shots on goal. In the middle of the first half, the game calmed down somewhat after the intense opening stages. Malen's shot in the 40th minute was too weak. At the other end, Dan Burn blazed a shot over the goal three minutes before the half-time whistle. Captain Emre Can had to be replaced due to injury, and was replaced by Salih Özcan. Shortly before the half-time whistle, BVB were finally rewarded for their efforts: after Nico Schlotterbeck won the ball, Marco Reus brought it forward. He found Schlotterbeck, who had continued his run, who teed up Felix Nmecha in the middle and the BVB midfielder duly gave his side a 1-0 lead. It was BVB's 09th shot of the match that finally hit the back of the net in the 45th minute.

Newcastle hit the woodwork twice 

In the second half, the first shot fell to BVB's Marco Reus, who missed the target with a long-range shot in the 52nd minute. Five minutes later, Callum Wilson's effort from close range was denied by the strong reflexes of Kobel. Shots from Gordon on 58 minutes at one end and Malen at the other end two minutes later were both deflected. In the second half, BVB failed to create as many dangerous opportunities as before the sides changed ends. Newcastle were invited to pick up the pace, but the centre of the Dortmund defence held firm.

On 82 minutes, BVB did find themselves in the opposition's penalty area once again. A long ball came to Marius Wolf, who played the ball to substitute Giovanni Reyna in the middle. He teed up fellow substitute Sebastien Haller, but the BVB man failed to get a shot away under pressure from the Newcastle defence. Less than a minute later, the striker could have shot himself, but instead he looked to find an extra pass. In the 85th minute, Ramy Bensebaini blocked Joe Willock's effort. Wilson had the hosts' best opportunity to equalise in the 86th minute, but his header from a free-kick cross hit the bar. In the first minute of injury time, Kobel parried another free-kick before the ball struck the Dortmund bar again after another free-kick with 94 minutes on the referee's watch. Despite the hosts' best efforts, they could not find an equaliser.

Outlook:   
The sides will meet again in Dortmund in two weeks. Before that, BVB have some important matches in the league and cup on the horizon: on Saturday (kick-off: 15:30 CET) they travel to Eintracht Frankfurt, before three home games in a row. First, they face TSG Hoffenheim in the DFB-Pokal on 1 November at 18:00 CET, before the big Bundesliga match against Bayern Munich on 4 November (kick-off: 18:30 CET). They are then back in Champions League action against Newcastle United on Tuesday, 7 November at 18:45 CET.

Teams & goals

UEFA Champions League, Matchday 3 NEWCASTLE UNITED – BORUSSIA DORTMUND 0-1 (0-1)

Newcastle United: Pope – Trippier, Lascelles, Schär, Burn (Targett, 70) – Longstaff (Tonali, 65), Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton (Murphy, 65 (Willock, 70)) – Almiron, Isak (Wilson, 14), Gordon
Bor. Dortmund: Kobel – Wolf, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini – Nmecha ((Reyna, 79), Can (Özcan, 42), Sabitzer – Malen (Süle, 78), Füllkrug (Haller, 79), Reus (Adeyemi, 63)
Bench: Dubravka, Karius;, Dummett, Hall, Livramento – Meyer, Lotka; Bynoe-Gittens, Blank, Moukoko
Goals: 0-1 Nmecha (45)
Corners: 11-9 (half-time 4-6), Shots: 5-4 (2-4)
Referee: Dias Soares (Portugal), Yellow cards: Bruno Guimaraes – Wolf
Attendance: 52,009 (sold-out), Weather: rainy, 9 degrees