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The German press wrote that after the defeat in Rome of “Lazio” Dortmund “Borussia” is simply obliged to win, if he does not want to lose the chances of leaving the group and the spring of the European Cup. And so it happened, the “bumblebees” got a pretty confident victory and got the first three points in the current draw for the main European Cup.
The German team, fittingly as a favorite, took control of the ball from the first seconds and calmly looked for opportunities for positional attacks. The “bumblebees” actively used high pressure and pushed the guests to their finish line.
Petersburgers, instead, relied on physical fighting and their few attempts to break into attack, they did not perform very well and fell on long passes. At times it got to the point where the pitches went straight into the hands of the owners goalkeeper Bürki, in particular defender Yaroslav Rakitskiy made several unsuccessful attempts to fine-tune the game from the depths.
With full territorial advantage, it is natural that it was the hosts who created the first dangerous moment in the opponent’s goal: Erling Holland subtly threw Reine, the American shot tight, but the ball went within inches of the nearest “nine” . The Germans kept pushing and in the 26th minute they earned a standard position near the penalty area – the ‘black and yellow’ winger Marco Royce took aim at the post, but Russia’s goalkeeper Kerzhakov dragged the blow with the tip of the fingers and spun the ball to the corner. The Borussia captain was the most active in the first 45 minutes of the match and often found himself with the ball at the gates of St. Petersburg.
Dortmund could easily go to a break as the leader on the scoreboard: the “bumblebees” made a strong attack, Sancho gave it to the Netherlands, the Norwegian burst into the penalty area, but failed to convert the start 1 to 1.
Despite the total superiority in ball possession – 65% for the hosts versus 35% for the guests, the “bumblebees” inflicted only two more hits on the opponent’s goal than the “white-blues”. But it should be noted that during the first half of the match, “Zenith” never shot on target.
The teams began the second half in a similar scenario, Borussia locked the guests in their half of the field and tried to find the key to the compact block of Semak’s charges. In the 60th minute all “Zenith” were on the defensive, the Russians retreated to the last third of the field near their goal. If at the start of the match the guests occasionally ran out of counterattacks, in the second half of the match they suffered heroically in their own penalty area.
The 20 minutes of the second half were as insipid as possible in terms of moments, Lucien Favre’s defenses, although they created a palpable pressure in the defensive redoubts of “Zenith”, but they could not go to the final offensive stage. The final 15 minutes of the meeting were accompanied by torrential rain – the game became even more fibrous.
“Bumblebees” perked up, perked up and yet waited for his chance: in the 77th minute, guest defender Karavaev fouled Torgan Azar in the penalty area. England’s Jadon Sachno pledged to hit the 11 meters and confidently delivered the ball into the corners and into “Zenith” goalkeeper Kerzhakov.
The Germans kept pressing and took their courage, everything was at stake: heels passes, “wall play”, penetrating passes … – 2: 0!
Favre’s team rehabilitates for the defeat in Lazio, while Zenit is identified as the main contender for the last place in Group F.
Champions League 2020/2021. Group stage. 2nd round
October 28, 10:00 p.m.
Germany. Dortmund. Stadium: “Signal Iduna Park”
Goals: Jadon Sancho 77, Earling Holland 90 + 1
“Borussia“: Burke, Maine, Akanji, Hummels, Gerreiro, David (Azar 67), Witzel, Reina (Dileini 84), Sancho (Bellingham 84), Royce (Brandt 74), Holland.
Head coach: Lucien favre
“Zenith“: Kerzhakov, Lovren, Rakitsky, Karavaev, Douglas Santos, Wendel, Erokhin, Barrios (Sutormin 81), Kuzyaev (Ozdoev 71), Driussi (Zhirkov 74), Dzyuba (Mostovoy 46).
Head coach: Sergey semak
Referee: Bjorn Kuipers (Netherlands)
