Bruun Larsen, Alcácer & Reus earn Black & Yellows 3-0 win

Boris Rupert reporting

The 66,099 spectators at a sold-out Signal Iduna Park saw a tactically astute performance from AS Monaco, who managed to halt the attacking momentum of a Dortmund side that had scored 11 goals in their previous two matches for the duration of the first half. But substitute Bruun Larsen eventually broke the deadlock in the 50th minute and Alcácer, who had earlier missed a penalty (69), doubled the advantage on the 72-minute mark. BVB were running the show in the second period and scored their third and final goal of the game when Reus drilled home in stoppage time.

The scenario: 
It was the third UEFA Champions League meeting between the clubs after 2016, when Monaco won 3-2 and 3-1. While BVB were yet to lose in any of their eight matches this season in all competitions (six wins, two draws), AS Monaco were winless in their previous eight games (three draws, five defeats). Borussia Dortmund had kicked off their campaign with a 1-0 win at FC Bruges, while AS Monaco had succumbed to a 2-1 loss to Atlético Madrid.

Personnel matters:  
Lucien Favre, who was without Pulisic (torn fibres), Schmelzer (knee complaint) and Kagawa (ankle problem), made four changes to the team that beat Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 on Saturday, replacing Hakimi, Bruun Larsen, Philipp (all substitutes) and Pulisic (injured) with Piszczek, Sancho, Wolf and Alcácer.

Tactics: 
While Dortmund opted for a 4-2-3-1 system, AS Monaco took to the field in a 3-4-1-2 formation and switched to a 5-3-2 when defending. The visitors were well organised, keeping the gaps between the lines compact and counter-pressing with up to four players as they aggressively tried to win back the ball.

The match & analysis:
The visitors struggled to stem Black & Yellow tide in the opening minutes but were soon carrying out their defensive duties with aplomb and even managed to create one or two moments of danger going forward too, with Bürki clawing a dipping Tielemanns' effort from 20 metres away from the top corner on 19 minutes. Though Borussia's play was lacking precision and tempo at this stage, they did look dangerous all of a sudden when they succeeded in picking up the pace. One such moment came when Wolf found Delaney on the edge of the box. The Dane picked out Alcácer, whose curling effort sailed narrowly wide (33). Six minutes later a deflected shot on the turn from 14 metres by Wolf was well saved by Benaglio, who then had to go off injured before the break.

BVB might have had 60 percent possession and a tackle win rate of 65 percent, but a draw was an entirely fair scoreline at the break given that Monaco looked as strong as Favre had expected.

After the interval, though, yet another substitution by the Swiss tactician made an immediate impact: Bruun Larsen, who replaced Wolf, ran onto an excellent and perfectly timed through-ball from Sancho and opened the scoring with a shot from nine metres out (50). Jemerson appealed for offside. The move had started when Reus and Witsel won the ball on the right flank.

By this point it was all Dortmund. Alcácer let Piszczek's cross run through to Reus, whose effort was just centimetres off target (62). The captain did win a penalty six minutes later, though, after drawing a foul from Glik, only to see Alcácer's thunderbolt from the spot crash against the underside of the crossbar and fail to cross the line as it bounced down. Seconds later, in the 71st minute, Weigl played Sancho through on goal but the young Englishman's lob was wayward.

Alcácer soon made amends for his missed penalty when Reus intercepted a misplaced pass and picked out the Spaniard, who beat two defenders and replacement shot-stopper Subasic before slotting into an empty net from a centre-left position (72). Reus then drilled home Bruun Larsen's cross in stoppage time to make it 3-0.

All the goals and highlights at a click

Outlook:
The international break will be followed by a double-header with Atlético, the first match coming in Dortmund on 24 October and the second in Madrid on 6 November. First, though, BVB host FC Augsburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday (15:30 CET).

Teams & goals