Borussia Dortmund came from behind at Lille’s Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Wednesday, claiming a 1-2 win on the night and progressing to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals as 3-2 aggregate winners.
Lille took the lead inside the opening five minutes through Jonathan David but Dortmund fought back valiantly in the second half, with Emre Can restoring parity from the penalty spot before Maximilian Beier nabbed the winner in the 65th minute.
Dortmund will face Barcelona next month.
As it happened
With the clash neatly poised at 1-1 following last week’s clash at the Westfalenstadion, Lille wasted no time firing themselves into an advantageous position on home turf when Jonathan David found the opener inside five minutes. Teed up by Ismaily, the Canadian’s admittedly weak effort rolled through the legs of Gregor Kobel and into the net.
But Dortmund came flocking forwards, and could have restored parity through Pascal Groß on the quarter-hour mark, only for the midfielder to be kept out by a fine save from Lucas Chevalier. The young shotstopper would be called upon frequently throughout the half, denying Julian Brandt and Serhou Guirassy in quick succession before a stunning goal-line clearance halted Andre’s hopes of becoming the hero.
Lille came close to adding to their lead when Hakon Haraldsson’s cross was nodded inches wide by Andre, and it was a missed chance that would seemingly come back to bite the French side in first-half stoppage time as Groß flicked a header towards goal, only to be denied by the crossbar.
Less than ten minutes of the second half had passed before Dortmund had dragged themselves back into contention though, with Emre Can despatching past Chevalier from the penalty spot after Thomas Meunier was judged to have brought down Guirassy inside the box.
The Germans should have soared into the lead on the hour mark when a Ryerson cutback was flicked back for Karim Adeyemi inside the box, only for the forward to power a thunderous effort against the woodwork.
But the winner would arrive mere moments later; Guirassy teed up Beier, with the midfielder drifting into an empty pocket of space before picking out the top corner with aplomb to revive Dortmund’s hopes of progressing to the quarter-finals.
The drama was not over there, though. Haraldsson was presented with an excellent chance to level the scoring with ten minutes remaining at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, pinging a cross into a central area for David – but the Canadian’s strike was directed straight into the grateful arms of Kobel.
Borussia Dortmund will face Barcelona in the quarter-finals.
The lineups
LIL: Chevalier; Ismaily, Alexsandro, Diakité, Meunier; Bouaddi, Andre; Haraldsson, Mukau, Cabella; David
BVB: Kobel; Ryerson, Schlotterbeck, Can, Anton; Groß, Sabitzer; Beier, Brandt, Adeyemi; Guirassy