Borussia Dortmund have missed out on the chance to prematurely book their place in the last 16. BVB were held to a 1-1 (1-1) draw by Sevilla on UEFA Champions League Matchday 4 but are still five points clear of third position and optimally placed to reach the knockout stages.

Boris Rupert reporting

The 81,000 spectators at a sold-out SIGNAL IDUNA PARK made for a record crowd in our 139th European home game! They witnessed a cautious match from both teams in which Bellingham cancelled out Nianzou's 18th-minute opening goal on the 35-minute mark. But they did not do enough to get the win.

The scenario:   
BVB had lost only three of their previous 17 home games against Spanish opposition and had won five of the last nine. Sevilla, meanwhile, had a positive away record in Germany with five victories, four draws and three defeats. From BVB's perspective, the two previous meetings between the teams ended in a 1-0 defeat (2010) and a 2-2 draw (2021).

image

Personnel matters:   
Reus (fitness training), Bynoe-Gittens, Dahoud (both shoulder operations), Haller (tumour) and Morey (meniscus operation) were not available. Terzic made five changes to the starting XI that won the reverse fixture 4-1 a week ago, with Kobel, Hummels, Rothe, Malen and Modeste replacing Meyer, Schlotterbeck, Guerreiro, Can and Moukoko (all substitutes); the introductions of Meunier and Adeyemi made for six changes compared to the team that faced Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga on Saturday (2-2).

Tactics:   
The No. 8s from the reverse fixture and the Bayern game, Bellingham and Özcan, were deployed as No. 6s in Dortmund's 4-2-3-1 formation. Like in the reverse fixture, Sevilla lined up with a back five off the ball and switched to 3-4-3 in possession.

The match & analysis:
BVB's wait-and-see approach at the outset allowed Sevilla to get into the game and take control. Rakitic's effort from 12 metres should have served as a wake-up call, but the visitors registered another attempt six minutes later: defender Nianzou was not tracked as he met Rakitic's free-kick cross from a deep midfield position on the left with a header that ended up in the back of the net (18). Dortmund lacked tempo and penetration for a long time, meaning Sevilla were not defensively challenged and overwhelmed the way they had been in the reverse fixture.

image

Borussia's equaliser on the half-hour mark came as something of a surprise. After Malen had won the ball back on the left, Bellingham played it over to the advancing Meunier on the right. His cross was not ideal, but Bellingham got his right foot to the ball in mid-air and steered it over the line to restore parity at 1-1 and take his tally to four goals in four Champions League matches this term!

The Black & Yellows brought on Guerreiro for Rothe at the break, though Dortmund's play continued to look rather restrained. Sevilla, who would have moved to within two points of BVB if they had won, did not open up either and instead remained patient. After the first corner, Lamela suddenly found himself through on Kobel, but the keeper stayed on his feet and made the block (67).

Moukoko came on after 64 minutes to replace Modeste, who had suffered from a lack of service but was still warmly applauded off the pitch. A short while later, Reyna and Hazard replaced Malen and Adeyemi in the wide positions. Hummels' header following a corner-kick in the 80th minute was the first dangerous attempt of the second period. Reyna's ball in stoppage time sailed past team-mates and opponents alike – and the score remained 1-1.

Outlook:   
BVB are next in action in the Bundesliga away to league leaders Union Berlin on Sunday (17:30 CET). Their next opponents in the UEFA Champions League are group leaders Manchester City on 25 October.

image

Teams & goals

UEFA Champions League Matchday 4
BORUSSIA DORTMUND 1-1 (1-1) SEVILLA

Bor. Dortmund: Kobel – Meunier (Schlotterbeck, 83), Süle, Hummels, Rothe (Guerreiro, 46) – Bellingham, Özcan – Adeyemi (Hazard, 71), Brandt, Malen (Reyna, 71) – Modeste (Moukoko, 64)
Sevilla: Bono – Carmona, Nianzou, Marcao (Jordán, 90+2) – Navas (Montiel, 90+2), Gudelj, Rakitic, Acuna (Telles, 71) – Suso (Januzaj, 59), El-Nesyri (Isco, 59), Lamela
Substitutes: Meyer; Wolf, Coulibaly, Passlack, Papadopoulos, Can – Dmitrović, Flores; Dolberg, Mir, Delaney, Gómez, Salas
Goals: 0-1 Nianzou (Rakitic, 18), 1-1 Bellingham (Meunier, 35)
Corners: 3-2 (1-0 at half-time), chance ratio: 1-3 (1-2)
Referee: Jovanovic (Serbia), yellow cards: Özcan (3, suspended) – Sampaoli, Gudelj, Carmona, Bono
Attendance: 81,000 (sold-out), weather: dry, 8 degrees