Marcel Sabitzer was the hero as BVB reached their first Champions League semi-final in over a decade. Re-live the action with our Borussia Dortmund vs Atlético Madrid stats centre.
Borussia Dortmund have progressed to the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time since 2012-13 thanks to a rollercoaster 4-2 win over Atlético Madrid at Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday, overturning a first-leg defeat in a 5-4 aggregate success.
Edin Terzić’s hosts looked to be cruising when 2-0 up at half-time, only for Atlético to battle back to level the game at 2-2, a score that would have been good enough to send the visitors through to the last four.
But Dortmund found another gear in the latter stages as Marcel Sabitzer and Niclas Füllkrug combined twice in quick succession to deliver a sucker punch to Atlético, who conceded four times in a Champions League knockout game for the first time since losing the 2014 final to Real Madrid in extra-time.
Atlético struggled to mount much of a late surge in response, with Dortmund worthy winners as they now look to plot the downfall of Paris Saint-Germain, whom they failed to beat in either group meeting earlier this season.
An exhilarating start in Dortmund seemed to hint a non-stop thriller was on the cards, as within five minutes both sides had wasted glorious opportunities to take the lead.
Karim Adeyemi’s pass found Sabitzer eight yards out with the goal at his mercy, but in opting to take a touch before shooting he presented César Azpilicueta with the chance to make a vital block.
Then, at the other end, Álvaro Morata – who hasn’t scored in any competition since 3 March – raced clear of Sabitzer and somehow clipped a left-footed effort wide with only Gregor Kobel to beat, his chance worth a meaty 0.63 expected goals (xG).
As it turned out, such end-to-end excitement wasn’t quite a sign of things to come for the rest of the first half as Dortmund’s need to pile men forward in search of an aggregate equaliser was balanced out by Atlético’s willingness to sit back and hang on to their slender lead.
And Atlético’s plan worked to a point, but they soon fell apart after the half-hour mark. Dortmund went ahead on the night thanks to Julian Brandt, who smashed through Jan Oblak from a tight angle following a gorgeous outside-of-the-boot pass courtesy of Mats Hummels, registering a first Champions League assist since November 2012.
It was 2-0 five minutes later and Atlético were sinking without a trace. Ian Maatsen combined brilliantly with Sabitzer down the left, where BVB had such joy in the first half, the full-back then bursting into the box and drilling across Oblak into the bottom-right corner.
With a first Champions League semi-final in six years quickly disappearing out of sight, Simeone had to make changes at the break. Ángel Correa, Pablo Barrios and Rodrigo Riquelme were introduced and almost instantly Atlético looked a little livelier.
Their response was rewarded three minutes into the second half with Mario Hermoso’s header going in off Hummels, the German becoming the oldest (35 years, 122 days) scorer of an own goal in the Champions League knockouts for 22 years (Laurent Blanc, 36y 142d).
Atlético were then ahead again on aggregate just past the hour with Correa slamming home an instinctive volley into the roof of the net from close range after his initial attempt was blocked.
That goal ensured this was the second most prolific Champions League campaign (23 goals) Atlético have ever had. Unfortunately for them, by the end of the game this also became the season in which they’d conceded the most in the competition (13, including one own goal).
Sabitzer’s fine left-wing cross was met by Füllkrug’s glancing header – which gave Oblak no chance – in the 71st minute. That pair then swapped roles, the German striker laying off to the midfielder, whose left-footed drive found the bottom-right corner from the edge of the box.
The first Austrian player to be involved in three goals in a Champions League knockout game in the competition’s current format, Sabitzer emphatically rallied after his terrible early miss that on another night might’ve proven costly.
As it was, he played arguably the decisive role as Dortmund returned to the final four of the Champions League. While getting any further might seem unlikely, Terzić’s men proved here on another bonkers night at Europe’s top table that their progress is no fluke.
Borussia Dortmund vs Atlético Madrid Stats: Post-Match Facts
- Borussia Dortmund have reached the UEFA Champions League semi-final for the fourth time, and for the first time since 2012-13.
- This was just the second time Atlético Madrid have conceded 4+ goals in a Champions League knockout stage game, after the 2014 final (1-4 v Real Madrid). Their 13 goals conceded in this season’s competition is their most in a single UEFA Champions League campaign.
- Marcel Sabitzer scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in 29 appearances, since netting twice against Tottenham with RB Leipzig in March 2020. He’s also the first Borussia Dortmund player to provide two assists in a knockout stage game in the competition since Andreas Möller in the 1997 final.
- Five of Julian Brandt’s six Champions League goals for Borussia Dortmund have come in home games, with his opener tonight his first in the knockout stages of the competition.
- Mats Hummels’ assist for Julian Brandt’s opener was just his second in the Champions League (87th app), with his other coming against Ajax 11 years and 147 days ago (November 2012).
- Only Manchester City (12) have had more different goalscorers (excluding own goals) in the UEFA Champions League this season than Borussia Dortmund, with Ian Maatsen and Marcel Sabitzer the 10th and 11th players to score for BVB this term.
- At 35 years and 122 days, Borussia Dortmund’s Mats Hummels became the second oldest player to score an own goal in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League, after Laurent Blanc for Manchester United against Deportivo de La Coruña in April 2002 (36y 142d).
- Atlético Madrid have conceded in each of their last 11 matches in all competitions, their longest run without a clean sheet since July 2004 (also 11 games).
Borussia Dortmund vs Atlético Madrid Stats: Timeline
Borussia Dortmund vs Atlético Madrid Stats Centre
Our live Opta match centre delivers you all the Borussia Dortmund vs Atlético Madrid stats from Tuesday’s Champions League game at Signal Iduna Park.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own post-match analysis.
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