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The group wins: As the leader of the table, Borussia Dortmund traveled to the last battered Zenit of Saint Petersburg to successfully finish the group victory. At first it was a procrastination, but on Monday BVB will enter the draw for the knockout stages of the Champions League as one of eight group winners. Borussia can’t be too happy about that though: at the end of February, the huge crowds in European stadiums also look illusory, the home advantage due to a bulging Westfalenstadion in the second leg is flat.
The result: BVB’s game in Russia ended 1: 2 (1: 0). Read the game report here.
Stadium experience: Outside the sand in St. Petersburg the temperatures were below zero degrees, inside with the roof closed and heated to 15 degrees, the conditions were downright cozy. Furthermore, the five-digit number of spectators brought an approximation of the atmosphere one would like to experience in the Champions League. 15,700 fans are said to have been there.
The first half: The BVB started without nine sick and injured forces, but Captain Marco Reus moved into the starting lineup. A compromised start was followed by a backhand at the quarter hour: Sebastián Driussi finished off at the right angle from almost 15 meters with a shot deflected by Mats Hummels (minute 16). Zenit, already fourth in the group before the game without wintering possibilities in the Champions or Europa League, wanted to add something countable to a point of five games to the lean. Sardar Azmoun’s 2-0 win was rightly retired in the 33rd minute for offside, while Reus hit the post seconds before the half-time whistle (45th).
The second half: Marwin Hitz, once again in Roman Bürki’s goal, avoided Zenit’s second goal with a strong save against Daler Kuzyaew (47th). The match babbled to itself, BVB did not seem encouraged by the possible group victory, Zenit around former HSV pro Douglas Santos was interested in a victory, not a show. The tie fell according to a standard: Łukasz Piszczek, 35, pushed a rebound over the line, his first Champions League goal in 54 games (68th). Axel Witsel hit the right corner from 18 meters with a shot to the right corner (78): BVB’s victory was perfect.
Record for Moukoko: For 26 years, Céléstine Babayaro held the record for the youngest player in the history of the Champions League. The Nigerian left-back was 16 years and 87 days old when he started for RSC Anderlecht against Steaua Bucharest in the 1994/1995 season. 37 minutes later he had another safe inning: he saw the red card and became the youngest player to be sent off the field in this competition. Yousouffa Moukoko did not achieve the expulsion record after his replacement in the 58th minute, but already the best age: at 16 years and 18 days he is now number one in the youngest ranking.
Brandt (in) dangerous: Julian Brandt is a national player, endowed with a good footing and a high level of game intelligence. At BVB he is currently in place, with each game mediocre at best, the uncertainty in his actions seems to grow. The game in St. Petersburg did not turn out to be the expected accelerator for Brandt’s return to top form. At the front he made confident but not positively surprising decisions, in the backlash he let his opponents escape more than once. No letter of request from the 24-year-old for more minutes.
Return to Fortuna: Axel Witsel wore the Zenit jersey from 2012 to 2017, won a championship with the club and arrived at BVB in 2018 via China. When he moved from Benfica to Zenit, the Russians paid a transfer fee of 40 million euros, a sum that never fell short. Routine appearance in today’s Champions League match would not have added to the pain of the farewell for the Zenit fans, but his 1: 2 goal would have.
