Champions League group stage recap: Dortmund top tricky section
Monday, January 22, 2024
Article summary
Dortmund came out on top in arguably the most difficult group of this season's competition.
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Dortmund have made it through to the UEFA Champions League round of 16 for the fifth time in the last six seasons after impressively topping a group containing Milan, Newcastle and Paris.
Campaign so far
Group F winners: W3 D2 L1 F7 A4
Top scorer: Karim Adeyemi (2)
19/09: Paris 2-0 Dortmund – Mbappé 49(p), Hakimi 58'
04/10: Dortmund 0-0 Milan
25/10: Newcastle 0-1 Dortmund – Nmecha 45
07/11: Dortmund 2-0 Newcastle – Füllkrug 26, Brandt 79
28/11: Milan 1-3 Dortmund – Chukwueze 37; Reus 10(p), Bynoe-Gittens 59, Adeyemi 69
13/12: Dortmund 1-1 Paris – Adeyemi 51; Zaïre-Emery 56
Campaign in ten words: Three straight wins after tricky start clinched place in knockouts.
UEFA.com reporter's view
Having missed out on winning the Bundesliga title in May, not many may have expected Dortmund to be the first team to qualify from the extremely tough Group F. Having suffered a setback at Paris (2-0) in the first match and drawn another blank at home against Milan (0-0), they really laid the groundwork for progression with back-to-back wins without conceding against Newcastle. Another mature performance at Milan ensured qualification with one game to spare.
How do Dortmund play?
Wary of a difficult task ahead, BVB set out with a counterattacking mindset and a back three for the first group match at Paris. They changed their set-up during that match, brought on a true No9 instead of two counterattacking forwards and their game improved right away. Since then, they have always opted for a formation with a back four and three central midfielders, with pacy wingers such as Donyell Malen or Jamie Bynoe-Gittens playing a decisive role. From that basic formation, Dortmund are capable of progressing the ball or pressing in different ways, and a three-player build-up is quite possible as well.
Fantasy star performers
Mats Hummels – 40 points
Gregor Kobel – 32 points
Nico Schlotterbeck – 30 points
Key stats
• On Matchday 5, Dortmund won a Champions League match in Italy for the first time since a 1-0 away win against Milan in March 2003.
• Dortmund have lost only one of their last 18 Champions League group stage matches at home (W10 D7).
• Dortmund have kept 12 clean sheets in their last 18 Champions League group stage matches at home.
Squad changes
In: Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Ian Maatsen, Jadon Sancho
Out: Hendry Blank, Giovanni Reyna
