BVB: Dortmund has put up with all the pieces at Atlético Madrid for much too lengthy | EUROtoday

Emre Can was on the bottom. The foul on the Dortmund captain was not whistled – and the Madrilenians continued to play. The counterattack rolled in direction of the BVB objective. Sebastian Kehl couldn't keep on the bench, he ran in direction of the sting of the sector and complained loudly.

Since just one particular person believes he can do that within the Wanda Metropolitano, Atlético Madrid's atmospheric area, the reply was not lengthy in coming: Diego Simeone, the everlasting provocateur within the guild of prime coaches, stormed in direction of Dortmund's sporting director , pushed him and gestured wildly along with his arms. But Kehl didn't again down. Both have been face to face and needed to be separated.

For former nationwide participant Michael Ballack, Kehl’s response was “absolutely” the best one. We know Atlético's conduct, together with the coach. “You can’t just put up with everything. We know Simeone on the line. If the referee doesn't intervene, it will certainly be necessary to reprimand him. Sebastian Kehl felt called to do that,” stated DAZN skilled Ballack.

“It was about countering today, that was the case in the situation,” stated Kehl afterwards. He “didn’t want to put up with everything”. This may even have been the motto for the German runner-up's efficiency within the 1:2 (0:2) draw within the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League – however just for the section after the outstanding tête-à-tête within the 58th minute. Because that's when the Dortmunders lastly began to defend themselves – after they’d nearly given the impression that they have been below the affect of tranquilizers.

Atlético coach Simoene pulled out all of the stops once more

“I didn't even notice it, but it's just part of it. You know that you not only need eleven players on the pitch, but also all the guys on the bench, all the coaches too. And the fact that things can get heated in the coaching area is nothing new, that doesn't surprise us,” explained BVB coach Edin Terzic about the incident with Kehl and Simeone.

In any case, the Atlético coach had pulled out all of the stops once more on Wednesday: the Argentine complained, whipped up the viewers and shouted round on the sidelines. In doing so, he additionally contributed to an environment that may definitely be intimidating.

This was notably clear within the early phases: Atlético barely allowed BVB to catch their breath, attacked their opponents extraordinarily early – and, due to the spectacular quantity of the 70,000 followers, triggered actual chaos. The Dortmund workforce made hair-raising errors. After simply 4 minutes, BVB keeper Gregor Kobel unnecessarily performed on Ian Maatsen, who was in hassle – Rodrigo de Paul splashed in and scored to make it 1-0. After 32 minutes, Nico Schlotterbeck made the same mistake, which led to Samuel Lino making it 0-2. BVB was at risk of going below. A debacle was on the horizon.

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It was a game that gave him “a lot of very mixed feelings,” said Terzic. “We started extremely poorly, played very incorrectly and nervously and gave away two very easy goals,” said the coach. “Normally” at this level and against such an opponent it is “game over.” Terzic had to take a breather at halftime. Almost everything that seemed to be gradually stabilizing in the last few weeks threatened to be pulverized in Madrid's stress test: the game structure, the team's complete stability – and, above all, Terzic's match plan.

It was a disturbing performance by BVB. The Dortmund team constantly played the balls into their opponents' feet. “We kept playing in a standing formation, but that was exactly what Atlético wanted,” said Terzic, who explained the disaster with a lack of experience. It was noticeable to Madrid's ball-savvy attackers Antoine Griezmann and Alvaro Morata that they had played games at this level “not for the primary time”, “not like our boys.”

This is a pretty thin approach. Strategies on how to react to aggressive pressing should be common knowledge for a Champions League quarter-finalist. Especially because it is known how Atlético plays. But why Dortmund kept making the same mistakes until shortly before half-time remains a mystery.

At the break Terzic finally managed to make some corrections. With Julian Brandt, a player who was confident on the ball came in for the overwhelmed Felix Nmecha – BVB increasingly gained control of the game. But also because Atlético suddenly retreated a long way. Simeone was afraid his team wouldn't be able to keep up the high tempo. “When we shifted our game more and included the outside players, the Spaniards could no longer run into the spaces,” said Marcel Sabitzer. The Dortmund team felt that something could actually work out for them.

Haller was a stroke of luck at BVB

However, it took some time before they were able to create clear scoring chances. It wasn't until the middle of the second half that determination came into BVB's performance – the feeling of showing the opponent in terms of toughness and will. Or, to put it with Kehl: to stop putting up with everything.

The bottom line was the goal from substitute Sébastien Haller. With the Ivorian, who came on as a substitute for the weak Niclas Füllkrug in the 60th minute, Dortmund finally had a center forward with whom they could break down the quite vulnerable Atlético defense. His goal to make it 1-2 (81st) preserved BVB's chances of the second leg next Tuesday.

Haller, who was injured at the Africa Cup of Nations in January and therefore had to fight for a long time to keep up, was “very important” not only because of his goal, said Kehl: “Above all, he was also very present in the penalty area.” He If he were to actually reach top form again, he could take BVB's offensive game to another level – in contrast to Füllkrug.

In any case, there is still hope of reaching a semi-final of the Champions League for the first time in eleven years – if BVB does not allow themselves to be intimidated again. “We saw that Atlético can be beaten. It’s definitely not over yet,” said Kehl. His new friend Diego Simeone also has to live with this realization.