BVB dominate chances 9-1 but still slump to unlucky 1-0 loss at Benfica

Boris Rupert reporting from Lisbon

The attendance of 55,000 at a below-capacity Estádio da Luz included some 3,000 BVB fans – of whom many faced with a long wait to get into the stadium, with several hundred even missing kick-off and the opening minutes. Borussia put in a strong performance but squandered several good chances, including a 58th-minute penalty that was awarded for handball but missed by Aubameyang. Benfica had earlier taken the lead through Mitroglou with their first opportunity of the match (48). Despite the disappointing and undeserved result, Borussia have every chance of progressing if they can reproduce that level of performance in the return leg in March!

The scenario: 
Borussia Dortmund had beaten Real Madrid to top spot in Group F and set a European goal record as they cemented their place in the last 16. Under Thomas Tuchel's leadership, BVB had won seven of their previous 11 matches at European level, drawing two and losing two. The Black and Yellows had also won their last five games against Portuguese opposition. Benfica's home record against teams from Germany made for impressive reading: ten victories, eight draws and two defeats. The Portuguese table-toppers went into the game having won 12 of their last 15 domestic games.

Personnel matters: 
BVB boss Thomas Tuchel, who was still without Götze, Bender, Sahin and Rode, made four changes to the team that was beaten 2-1 in Darmstadt on Saturday: Ginter, Pulisic, Burnic and Mor made way for Piszczek, Dembélé, Bartra and Schmelzer. It was the same Black and Yellow XI that had started the victories over Leipzig in the league and Berlin in the Cup. Benfica were without Jonas, last season's top-scorer in Portugal.

Tactics:   
The personnel change went hand in hand with a minor tactical tweak: much like the Leipzig and Hertha matches, BVB took to the field in a 3-1-4-2 formation with Reus and Aubameyang lining up in attack ahead of an offensive midfield quartet, in which Dembélé repeatedly drifted from a central position out to the right flank. Wingers Schmelzer und Durm dropped back to expand the defence into a four or even five man rearguard when Benfica were attacking. The Portuguese opted for a 4-1-4-1 formation with only one defensive midfielder (Fejsa) and Pizzi and Silva in the central roles. The latter would push forward to support Mitroglou in attack. Without possession, Benfica resorted to a 4-4-2.

The match & analysis:
Borussia Dortmund dominated the first 45 minutes, enjoying 67 percent possession, and clearly had the better of the chances going forward. The first came in the fourth minute, when Dembélé received the ball from Reus but did not spot the better-placed Aubameyang in the six-yard box; and later, Durm miscontrolled the ball in the box as the visitors missed out on another good chance (21). On top of those two incidents, Borussia squandered three other major chances to break the deadlock in the first half.

In the 13th minute, Dembélé won the ball and played a precise pass through to Aubameyang, who fired over from 14 metres out (13). Then, ten minutes later, Reus and Guerreiro combined to set up Dembelé from seven metres, only for centre-back Lindelöf to throw his body in the way of the shot. With 38 minutes on the clock, Guerreiro took advantage of a misunderstanding between the Benfica shot-stopper and a defender near the byline to poke the ball across the face of the six-yard box, but Aubameyang was taken by surprise and failed to anticipate the cross. Then referee Rizzoli denied the Black and Yellows a possible penalty when Ederson collided with Dembélé on the edge of the area.

Overall, BVB boss Tuchel would have been very happy with his team's performance in the opening 45 minutes, even if at times they had been lacking precision going forward and should have converted at least one of the two or three gilt-edged opportunities that they had created. Defensively, it was a calm and comfortable display.

But barely three minutes after the restart Borussia were caught flat-footed as Benfica opened the scoring with their first chance of the game. When Luisao headed goalbound following a corner and Bürki saved, Mitroglou pounced on the rebound and poked home to break the deadlock (48). It was the Greek international's first UEFA Champions League goal of a season in which he has netted ten in the league and seven in the Portuguese Cup.

BVB pressed in search of an immediate leveller but when Reus bundled the ball through to Dembélé, the midfielder's close-range effort was saved by Ederson (51). Two minutes later a Bartra pass was deflected through to Aubameyang, who missed from 11 metres, then Ederson saved Reus' volley from a centre-left position (56) before parrying away Piszczek's strike from 25 metres seconds later.

In the 58th minute Rizzoli pointed to the spot following Fejsa's handball but Aubameyang, not wanting to fire over the crossbar for a third time, went low and straight down the middle. Ederson stood still and made a comfortable save.

Benfica opted for a more defensive approach in a bid to see out the victory and keep the ranks compact after the visitors had created a spate of chances. Ten minutes from time Tuchel brought on Castro and Pulisic, having previously replaced Aubameyang with Schürrle on the hour mark (62).

Borussia's misfortune continued in the 84th minute when Ederson made a spectacular save after Pulisic's unstoppable shot had taken a heavy deflection, the custodian parrying the ball away for a corner.

Prospects: 
The last 16 tie will resume at Signal Iduna Park on 8 March. Next up for the Black and Yellows is a Bundesliga meeting with VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday.

Teams & goals