Atlético Madrid holds a 2-1 lead from their first-leg Champions League quarterfinal encounter with Borussia Dortmund into Tuesday night’s second leg.
Match Preview
Dortmund trailed early in the first leg, conceding a goal to Rodrigo De Paul in the fourth minute, followed by a goal from Samuel Lino in the 32nd minute, doubling Atletico’s lead.
While it seemed Atletico would secure a comfortable victory and had opportunities to extend their lead, Dortmund managed to pull one back with nine minutes remaining.
Sebastien Haller scored, offering Borussia Dortmund hope for the second leg.
To overturn the tie, Edin Terzic’s team needs to score twice without conceding. However, this task is challenging against Diego Simeone’s Atletico, who have shown improvement this season.
In the first leg, Dortmund controlled possession with 67% but managed only four shots on target out of 12 attempts.
Atletico has won two of their previous three meetings with Dortmund in the Champions League, both victories coming at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid.
The last encounter at Signal Iduna Park saw Dortmund triumph 4-0 during the 2018-19 Champions League group stage.
Despite Dortmund’s recent 2-1 win at Borussia Monchengladbach, their form has been inconsistent, with losses in their prior two fixtures, including the defeat to Atletico, and conceding four goals in the last three games.
Contrarily, Atletico enters the match on a three-game winning streak across all competitions, with a 3-1 victory over Girona in their most recent La Liga fixture, maintaining fourth place.
Team News & Updates:
Leading Atletico’s attack are Alvaro Morata and Antoine Griezmann, with a combined 39 goals in all competitions.
Although they didn’t score in the first leg, both featured as dual strikers in Atletico’s 3-5-2 formation, with Griezmann bagging a brace against Girona, bringing his tally to 19 goals.
Donyell Malen tops Dortmund’s goal-scoring charts this season with 13 goals in all competitions, followed by Niclas Fullkrug with 12 goals and 10 assists.
Prediction & Analysis:
Expect a tight contest as both teams vie for a spot in the semifinals. With Atletico’s solid defensive record and Dortmund’s home advantage, a 1-1 draw seems likely, sending Atletico through to the next round.
- Dortmund 1-1 Atletico Madrid