Speaking to DAZN after Borussia Dortmund’s win against Chelsea, Edin Terzic praised the defensive performance of his players after Karim Adeyemi secured a 1-0 win for the Bundesliga club.
“In the end there was a bit of luck involved, not to mention a great performance from our goalkeeper,” said Terzic. “In the final stages in particular, Chelsea were really dominant, they had a lot of the ball in the final third. It became harder and harder for us to hold our nerve in defence. But we also had a few opportunities here and there to hit them on the counter. We did a good job at winning the ball, but too often we weren’t able to keep a hold of it for long.
“We’ll do whatever it takes, and we won’t feel apologetic for beating Chelsea at home in the last 16. They have unbelievable quality up front. It was really impressive how Joao Felix operated between the lines and his teammates were always able to thread passes to him. But we know one thing for sure: whenever the going gets tough, we can count on Gregor Kobel. There were a few times, particularly in the first half, that we managed to play our way through them. So there are a lot of good things to take from tonight, and best of all is the win.”
Both teams cancelled each other out in the opening 45 minutes, Julian Brandt was Borussia Dortmund’s best player in the final third with 45 touches, 4 key passes and 100 percent dribble completion.
In the second-half, BVB sat much deeper and allowed Chelsea more possession, opting to play on the counter-attack. In the 63rd minute, this is how Dortmund took the lead. Adeyemi gathered the ball in his own-half, showcased his explosive pace and composure, dribbling past Enzo Fernandez before rounding Kepa Arrizabalaga, giving BVB a 1-0 lead heading into the second-leg.
But Dortmund also have Emre Can to thank. The central-midfielder cleared an effort on the line, whilst Gregor Kobel made seven saves against Chelsea, his most in a Champions League game.
GGFN | Daniel Pinder
