MADRID: Atletico Madrid earned a 2-1 Champions League quarter-final first leg victory over Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, surviving a late onslaught from the visitors.
Rodrigo De Paul and Samuel Lino’s first half goals gave Diego Simeone’s side a commanding lead but Sebastien Haller pulled one back to give the German side a foothold in the tie ahead of next week’s return in Dortmund.
Edin Terzic’s side, fifth in the Bundesliga, improved greatly after a slow start and hit the woodwork twice in the final stages of a match which saw security measures reinforced after the Islamic State (IS) group made threats against stadiums used for last-eight ties.
Atletico Madrid had flown out of the traps, keen to grasp a golden opportunity to reach the semifinals for the first time since 2017.
Dortmund could not cope with the Rojiblancos’ high press and De Paul fired the hosts ahead after Ian Maatsen gave the ball away.
Goalkeeper Gregor Kobel passed the ball to the on-loan Chelsea defender, who panicked under pressure and played a slack pass which De Paul gleefully intercepted.
The Argentina international finished calmly to amp up the already loud Metropolitano stadium crowd.
Atletico have not lost any of their home Champions League knock-out games during Simeone’s 12 years at the helm and continued to flood forward confidently.
Kobel clawed away a brilliant backheel flick by former Dortmund midfielder Axel Witsel, a key part of Atletico’s back-line after his move in 2022.
The only negative note from a fine Atletico first half was a booking Lino earned, ruling him out for the second leg.
A few minutes later the Brazilian doubled his team’s lead after another Dortmund defensive mix-up.
Mats Hummels, on his 500th appearance for Dortmund, badly directed a header into Alvaro Morata’s path and he and Antoine Griezmann combined to feed Lino, who slid a low effort past Kobel.
Dortmund carved out their first opening after 35 minutes but Witsel dived in to deflect Karim Adeyemi’s shot on to the roof of Jan Oblak’s net.
The Slovenian goalkeeper kept out efforts from loanee Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho and Maatsen before the break.
Terzic brought on Julian Brandt for Felix Nmecha at half-time in search of more attacking spark.
Missing sick top goalscorer Donyell Malen the Bundesliga side struggled to find a way past Oblak, who saved from Niclas Fuellkrug early in a far tighter second half.
Kobel made a stunning save to deny Lino his second goal from point-blank range and Dortmund swiftly capitalized on it through substitute Haller.
Nahuel Molina made poor contact on a clearance and the ball fell to the towering striker who drove it beyond Oblak.
Despite the visitors finding a foothold in the game, Atletico held on by the skin of their teeth and Dortmund fell to their first away defeat in four months.
Hummels made up for his earlier error with a fine challenge to dispossess Angel Correa as he ran in on goal before Dortmund twice came close to an equalizer.
English winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens’s long-range drive deflected off Cesar Azpilicueta’s head and hit the crossbar.
Brandt also nodded against the frame of the goal in stoppage time in a frantic finale.
Simeone was able to celebrate his 50th Champions League victory as a coach, becoming the ninth man to achieve the feat.
One neither Simeone or Atletico have yet achieved is conquering the Champions League, but this win is a shaky step toward the semifinals.
Atletico hold on to keep advantage on Dortmund
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Atletico hold on to keep advantage on Dortmund
- Dortmund could not cope with the Rojiblancos’ high press and De Paul fired the hosts ahead after Ian Maatsen gave the ball away
Marmoush, Salah strike as Egypt edge out holders Ivory Coast in quarter-final
- Egypt wasted little time in taking the lead as Marmoush scored in the fourth minute
- That set up a siege of the Egyptian goal in the final 15 minutes but they held out to advance
AGADIR, Morocco: Omar Marmoush netted the opener and Mohamed Salah scored the decisive goal as Egypt ended Ivory Coast’s reign with a narrow 3-2 triumph in Saturday’s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final.
Center back Rami Rabia was the other scorer for the Egyptians, who had little possession at the Grande Stade Agadir but took their chances with clinical precision and held on grimly to book a semifinal meeting with Senegal on Wednesday.
An own goal from Ahmed Fatouh and a late effort by Guela Doue proved insufficient for the Ivory Coast, winners of the tournament on home soil two years ago but now deposed as African champions.
Egypt, who have won a record seven Cup of Nations titles, wasted little time in taking the lead as Marmoush scored in the fourth minute after Hamdi Fathy pinched the ball from Franck Kessie in the midfield, allowing Emam Ashour to thread a pinpoint ball to the sprinting Marmoush. He still needed to shrug off the attentions of defender Odilon Kossounou before slotting home.
But it quickly became clear the Ivorians were going to dominate possession, showing much more physical strength on the ball but without setting up clear chances.
Egypt went 2-0 up in the 32nd minute when Rabia rose above the defenders to head his side further ahead from a corner.
The Ivory Coast, who had 70 percent of possession in the first half, reduced the deficit eight minutes later when teenager Yann Diomande’s freekick near the corner took a slight brush off Kossounou’s head and ricocheted off the knee of full back Fatouh and into the net.
SALAH FINISHED OFF CLEVER MOVE
The Ivorians had come from 2-0 down to beat Gabon 3-2 earlier in the tournament but hopes of turning the scoreline around soon after the re-start were stymied by a simply created, but superbly finished, goal for Salah seven minutes after the break.
Rabia was well inside his own half when he chipped the ball over the top of the Ivorian defensive line, allowing Ashour to run onto it and hit an accurate pass with the outside of his right boot into the path of Salah to score.
An Ivorian comeback was still on when Doue touched home at the end of a goalmouth scramble in the 73rd minute.
That set up a siege of the Egyptian goal in the final 15 minutes but they held out to advance.
Earlier on Saturday, Nigeria overpowered Algeria 2-0 in Marrakech and will take on hosts Morocco in the other semifinal.
