Thank you very much for joining me.
Here is Sid Lowe’s report.
The Champions League can be fun.
18 - There were 18 goals scored in the first legs of this season's UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, the joint most in a season along with 2010-11. Entertainment. pic.twitter.com/koNm84DyVs
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 10, 2024
Very much a game of two halves in Madrid. Dortmund were not in the first but found their feet in the second and certainly deserve one goal. They might be disappointed to come away with a loss but it was a fine effort. They will be vaguely confident they can go through.
Full time: Atletico 2-1 Dortmund
What a cracking second half from Dortmund. They were really poor in the first half and could not lay a glove on Atletico but they came back strong after the break and deserved to pull a goal back. The Germans have plenty to do in the second leg but they still have a chance.
90+5 mins: OFF THE BAR! Brandt heads against the woodwork with Oblak beaten.
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90+4 mins: Kone slides into Bynoe-Gittens from distance but the referee thinks it is a fair challenge. The winger has been a great addition to the match since coming on.
Riquelme has a chance but his shot is straight at Kobel.
90+2 mins: Dortmund are still pushing for an equaliser …
90 mins: Riquelme, SAvic and Saul Niguez on for Atletico, Witsel, Lino and Molina off.
Five minutes added on.
88 mins: Bynoe-Gittens glides past Molina and gets to the byline, eventually winning another corner. Sancho swings it in but it goes over everyone, eventually reaching Brandt but he can’t do much with it and Atletico clear.
87 mins: OFF THE BAR! Bynoe-Gittens cuts in from the right and lets fly from distance. It takes a flick off Azpilicueta and smacks the top of the bar.
86 mins: Another defensive mistake, this time from Hummels, allows Correa to go through on goal. The defender does his best to put the striker off and his shot is well saved by Kobel. Dortmund’s defence really needs a cold jug of water to the face.
Witsel flicks a cross behind his own goal. Corner Dortmund.
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84 mins: Reus and Ozcan on, Sabitzer and Can off.
A neat move from Dortmund sees the ball land at Haller’s feet inside the box and he thrashes his shot into the corner. GAME ON!
GOAL! Atletico 2-1 Dortmund (Haller 81)
The striker thrashes home from inside the area.
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80 mins: Correa replaces De Paul, who has a nice man put a coat on for him.
Meanwhile after all their hard work, Dortmund do their best to gift Atletico a goal by playing the ball round at the back in a pathetic manner. Luckily Dortmund get away with it after scrambling around at the back.
78 mins: Simeone has a word with the referee about something or other but it all ends with a handshake.
76 mins: Griezmann wins a free-kick on the left flank. He sends his cross into the corridor of uncertainty. No one in yellow wants to deal with it and the ball reaches Lino at the back post but his shot from three yards is superbly saved by Kobel. He’s kept Dortmund in the tie.
Gimenez goes into the book for a foul.
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74 mins: Brandt takes the free but he does not get enough dip and it flies over.
Englishman Bynoe-Gittens replaces Adeyemi.
72 mins: Dortmund get a corner. They take it short but all they get a is a throw. They do eventually cross the ball into the box but Oblak claims easily.
Haller is held by Gimenez 20 yards from goal and the referee rightly awards a free-kick to Dortmund.
70 mins: Llorente chases the ball down the right flank and sends in a very dangerous cross along the six-yard line but no one is there to turn it in. The ball comes back to Barrios on the edge of the box but his shot is blocked.
68 mins: Atletico have 11 behind the ball now. Schlotterbeck slides to get the ball and then catches Llorente. The Spaniard moans a bit but he probably should just buy some shinpads that cover his shins.
66 mins: ‘Dortmund need things to go almost perfectly for them from this point,’ says commentator Ian Darke and then immediately they pass the ball straight to the referee.
64 mins: Morata departs as Barrios takes his place. That’s a midfielder for a striker, indicating the improvement from Dortmund.
62 mins: Dortmund are getting into some decent positions but whenever they do red and white shirts descend.
60 mins: Haller is coming on for Fullkrug. The German struggled to get into the game but not much of that is his fault.
59 mins: Sancho shows some quick feet and gets into the box but he is eventually dispossessed as a cabal of Atletico players surround him.
Can is caught on the calf by De Paul and stays down but the referee does nothing.
Simeone is unhappy and goes to give a Dortmund staff member a bit of a shove to pass the time. I am not sure why the Atletico manager is so irked.
57 mins: Fullkrug receives a pass inside the area, he holds it out and lays it off to Brandt whose shot is deflected over. Fullkrug complains that Azpilicueta pulls him down but the referee is not interested.
55 mins: Llorente receives a bit of treatment, delaying the free-kick being taken. Griezmann eventually whips in a cross towards the edge of the box but Morata’s flicked header lands in Kobel’s hands.
53 mins: Molina gets down the right, helped by the fact Sancho does not bother to track him. He reaches the box and shoots to Kobel’s left but it is a solid save and Sancho gets back eventually to clear.
Maatsen goes into the book for a late challenge on Llorente.
51 mins: Kobel considers a short pass and then realises he should just lump, which is a far more sensible policy. It works and eventually ends with Fullkrug shooting from the edge of the box but Oblak basically drops onto the ball.
49 mins: Sabitzer takes aim for distance but Oblak holds onto the shot. At the very least they are looking like a threat.
Schlotterbeck takes a scattergun approach to defending, allowing De Paul to nip in and win possession but Ryerson bails out his teammate.
47 mins: Brandt is straight into the action, lifting a dangerous into the box which Atletico scramble clear. They certainly need to show more intent than in the first half.
Second half
Here we go again!
Brandt on for Nmecha, which is no surprise.
Taha Hashim is helming the other match tonight.
Half time: Atletico 2-0 Dortmund
Atletico really are an excellent and well-organised side but they have been aided by Dortmund’s failings at the back. The Germans showed a little promise in the final few minutes of the half to give them something to cling onto.
45 mins: One minute added on.
44 mins: Adeyemi looks lively on the right again. The ball makes its way out to the onrushing Maatsen who pings a powerful shot from 20 yards but Oblak reacts quickly and prevents the ball finding the corner.
42 mins: Oblak comes to claim a long pass over the top from Sabitzer just to remind himself he’s alive.
40 mins: Atletico are toying with Dortmund at the moment, knocking it around for their own amusement.
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38 mins: Sancho shows more trickery and has a shot but it is once again blocked. Oblak is still waiting for something to do.
36 mins: De Paul plays a perverse pass, sending it 20 yards towards Adeyemi who is just outside the box; he gets it out of his feet but sees his shot deflected behind.
The resulting corner is headed behind by Griezmann.
34 mins: Dortmund’s defence has not been very Champions League tonight. They look disorganised and have made a number of dreadful decisions. No wonder they are struggling in the Bundesliga.
Dortmund make a mess of defending a simple throw-in, allowing Griezmann to receive the ball and play it into Lino who does the rest from inside the area.
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GOAL! Atletico 2-0 Dortmund (Lino, 32)
A fine pass from Griezmann and a lovely finish.
31 mins: Sancho shows off his quick feet on the right and drills in a cross which Gimenez turns behind. The Englishman takes the resulting corner and finds Nmecha in the box but he heads over when he should do better.
30 mins: Half an hour gone. Dortmund have had zero shots.
28 mins: Lino catches Schlotterbeck on the top of his boot with studs, resulting in a booking. That means he is out of the second leg.
He is soon joined by Llorente in the referee’s book after he gets very angry about having a free-kick awarded against him for a soft foul on Can.
26 mins: Griezmann plays Atletico’s seventh corner of the match short. It eventually is lifted into the box but Dortmund deal with it relatively comfortably.
24 mins: Can bundles over De Paul as the Argentinian drives through midfield, earning the German a booking for his troubles.
22 mins: Dortmund have dominated possession but are yet to make it into the Atletico box.
20 mins: Molina lifts another cross into the box and Hummels is forced to head it behind. Griezmann whips the corner in; Gimenez wins the first header and finds teammate Morata inside the six-yard box but he is underneath the ball and steers over.
18 mins: Dortmund in defence is a complete shambles. Lino gets the ball into the box and it looks easy enough to clear but Maatsen gives the ball straight back to Atletico. Griezmann is gifted a chance to shoot but his effort is blocked by a defender.
Justin Kavanagh emails: “Watching Griezmann play is like seeing an expert tailor at work stitching together the play. Of course, the cloth in his workshop is the highest quality at his level, but you get the impression that he’d make an Armani suit out of sackcloth. What a player!”
16 mins: Sancho has first run of the match down the left bu Koke tackles him on the touchline to give Dortmund a throw. The Spaniard protests for some reason but the decision stands.
14 mins: Atletico are so confident that Lino feels comfortable performing an overhead kick on the edge of the box but it is straight at Kobel.
At this stage, Dortmund would take a 1-0 defeat but their defence looks like it will concede a few more.
12 mins: Dortmund’s attempts to pass it out from the back are pretty underwhelming. They tap it around and then realise they need to knock it longer and generally just send the ball back to Atletico.
10 mins: It is another corner for Atletico but Dortmund do manage to clear. The Germans are not in this game at the moment.
8 mins: Hummels fails to control a simple pass and gives away a corner. Dortmund fail to clear, allowing Griezmann to swing in a cross, which Witsel flicks wonderfully at goal and Kobel makes a stunning save. They get a corner but it should be given as offside, meaning any goal would not have counted.
6 mins: Dortmund are just panicking over everything now. They have set their own downfall and Atletico are rightly confident they can get a few more.
Kobel has all the time in the world and takes as much as he can, allowing Atletico to close ranks. The goalkeeper passes to Maatsen, facing his own goal, and his first-time pass is straight to De Paul, who takes a touch and slots home.
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GOAL! Atletico 1-0 Dortmund (De Paul 4)
Utter stupidity from Dortmund.
2 mins: Dortmund, very much in yellow, dominate possession in the early stages but Atletico break on them, resulting in a beautiful pass from Griezmann to Morata, whose shot is blocked by Maatsen.
Kick off
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!
The teams are in the tunnel. It looks lively in Madrid.
Edin Terzic: “The margin of error is very small on this stage. We know in this atmosphere it is very difficult. We need everyone.
“It is part of the job to keep the home fans quiet today.”
Have a read about Harry Kane to pass the time.
A decent record.
16- In games played at the Vicente Calderón and the Cívitas Metropolitano, Atlético de Madrid have never lost in the knockout stages of the Champions League under Simeone (P16 W10 D6) and they only conceded four goals in those 16 matches, keeping 12 clean sheets in them. Fort. pic.twitter.com/WlJS2Sl0q5
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) April 10, 2024
It is looking a little lively outside.
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Wrap your ears around Football Weekly with yours truly.
Starting lineups
Atlético (5-3-2): Oblak; Molina, Witsel, Giménez, Azpilicueta, Lino; Llorente, Koke, De Paul; Griezmann, Morata.
Subs: Moldovan, Gomis, Paulista, Savic, Reinildo, Saul, Riquelme, Vermeeren, Barrios, Correa, El Jebari.
Dortmund (4-2-3-1): Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen; Sabitzer, Can; Sancho, Nmecha, Adeyemi; Füllkrug.
Subs: Meyer, Lotka, Ozcan, Haller, Reus, Duranville, Wolf, Moukoko, Brandt
Preamble
After a quiet night of Champions League football we go again. Atletico play host to Dortmund, sitting fourth and fifth in their respective domestic leagues. If we are being honest it is the least enticing of the four quarter-final ties. We should, however, not be negative about what will be an intriguing battle.
Atletico have the highest-paid coach in the world and a squad laden with talent. They have, arguably, the best goalkeeper in the world in Jan Oblak and at the other end of the pitch the permanently cool Antoine Griezmann. In even better news for the hosts, they were given the weekend off so everyone in Spain could focus on the Copa del Rey final, so should feel pretty fresh.
Dortmund, on the other hand, wish they didn’t play last weekend, losing 1-0 at home to Stuttgart to add to the pessimism at the German club. On the upside, they also have a plethora of talents at their disposal and if they can put together a decent 90 minutes, they can mix it with the best of them. Jadon Sancho has showed promise since returning to Dortmund and would like to prove himself in the Champions League spotlight.
Anyway, let’s hope for a cracker!
Kick-off: 8pm BST
