Matchday 2 of the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League will see Borussia Dortmund take on AC Milan, whose last two defeats to Bundesliga clubs have both been at the hands of BVB, on Wednesday evening.

The scenario

Borussia Dortmund suffered a 2-0 defeat away to Paris Saint-Germain in this season's opening game, while AC Milan were held to a 0-0 draw by Newcastle United at their home stadium.

History

  • The most recent of their six meetings to date came in the second group phase of the 2002/2003 UEFA Champions League group phase, when both teams won their away match by a 1-0 scoreline. Filippo Inzaghi scored in double-digit minus temperatures in Dortmund, with Jan Koller netting for BVB in Milan. Borussia ultimately finished in third place in this group behind Milan and Real Madrid.
  • The two clubs met in the semi-final of the UEFA Cup in the 2001/2002 season. BVB produced a stellar performance in the first leg, claiming a 4-0 victory thanks to a hat-trick from Marcio Amoroso and a goal by Jörg Heinrich, but then found themselves 3-0 down in stoppage time in Milan before Lars Ricken scored to seal progression to the final. BVB lost the final 3-2 to Feyenoord in Rotterdam.
  • In the quarter-finals of the 1957/58 European Champions Cup, a 1-1 draw in Dortmund was followed by a clear 4-1 loss in Milan.

Borussia Dortmund

  • The overall record against Italian clubs is negative with 12 victories, six draws and 19 defeats. On home turf, it is even (7-4-7).
  • BVB celebrated the biggest success in their history against a team from Italy, beating Juventus by a 3-1 scoreline in the 1997 UEFA Champions League final.
  • The runners-up from last season are in the group stages for the 18th time in total and the eighth season in succession. Two exceptions aside, the Black & Yellows have consistently reached the knockout stage in their past 10 campaigns.
  • BVB have lost only one of their past 15 home games in the Champions League group phase (nine wins and five draws).

AC Milan

  • Milan won the UEFA Champions League in 1994, 2003 and 2007, also reached the final in 1993, 1995 and 2005, and are the only Italian club that have lifted the trophy more than once in the Champions League era.
  • The Rossoneri finished the 2022/23 Serie A campaign in fourth place, 20 points behind champions SSC Napoli.
  • AC Milan have not lost a match against German opposition since their home defeat against Borussia Dortmund on 18 March 2003 (1-0).
  • The 4-0 defeat in Dortmund on 4 April 2002 is also Milan's biggest defeat on German soil to date. Three of the following six away games against Bundesliga teams ended in victory.
  • Overall, there have been four victories, seven draws and six defeats in Germany.
  • After a lengthy absence, Milan are taking part in the group stages for the third season in succession and for the 20th time in total. Only Juventus have represented Italy more often (23 times).
  • AC reached the knockout stages last season for the first time since 2013/14 and made it to the semi-finals, where they played city rivals Inter Milan.
  • Despite their five wins in the 2022/23 season, Milan have won only seven of their last 26 matches in the UEFA Champions League (eight draws, 11 defeats).
  • Milan's Christian Pulisic scored 19 goals for Borussia Dortmund across all competitions between 2015 and 2019. He came on as a substitute in the 2-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2016/17 DFB-Pokal final.
  • Now opponents Karim Adeyemi and Noah Okafor (FC Salzburg, 2020-22) and Marius Wolf and Luka Jovic (Eintracht Frankfurt, 2017/18) used to be team-mates. (br)