Man of the Match Poll: Borussia Dortmund Advance Past Sevilla to Keep Champions League Dream Alive

An exhausted and injury-riddled Borussia Dortmund drew 2-2 on the night with visitors Sevilla FC, just edging out a 5-4 aggregate victory to advance to the quarterfinals. Chasing the game after the first leg result, Sevilla came out the aggressor and dominated the opening thirty-five minutes. Die Schwarzgelben were sitting deep early, jaded and fatigued from playing two full games in the previous week. Sevilla pushed hard, but a goal against the run of play from Erling Haaland halted their momentum.

Sevilla huffed and puffed but could not find the goal they deserved; BVB pressed high with Thomas Delaney and Nico Schulz combining to win the ball before Mahmoud Dahoud released Marco Reus into the box. Reus smartly drew away the Sevilla goalkeeper and played Erling Haaland in for an easy goal, leaving the visitors dejected. Dortmund came out of blocks in the second half quickly, putting Sevilla under serious pressure before Erling Haaland broke through on goal and scored, which is when the calamitous refereeing began to dominate the narrative.

Haaland’s second was called back, but in the process was given a penalty for a previous foul in the box. Bono promptly saved Haaland’s penalty and two follow up shots on target, only for VAR to judge that he had come off his line. He could not do anything about the second penalty as Haaland tucked it away in the corner for a two-goal lead on the evening. Sevilla would pull a goal back just 14 minutes later when Emre Can pushed Luuk De Jong in the box, Youssef En-Neysri swiftly dispatched the ensuing spot-kick. Throwing all caution to the wind in what became a very chippy affair, Sevilla constantly placed crosses into the box. Jesus Navas finally found En-Neysi for a bullet header in stoppage time, but the goal came too late to make a difference. Dortmund were able to see out the remaining minute of added time to advance through to the next round on aggregate.

Here are the candidates for Man of the Match:

Erling Haaland

Where would this team be without his goals? Another brace for the star striker has propelled BVB to the quarter finals for the first time in four years. Haaland is now the youngest player to score in six consecutive UCL matches, all while adjusting his game to help the team. His hold up play has been improving for months while he has also been dropping slightly deeper and away from center-backs to receive outlet passes and start the counter-attack. Sevilla will be having nightmares for not having been able to adjust to the Norwegian starlet over the two legs.

Jude Bellingham

17! Seriously, this young man plays like is 27 and in the prime of his career, while having the intelligence of a 33 year-old veteran. Jude was always looking to play forward and drive with the ball at his feet in the attack but it was his effort today that was amazing. With Dortmund trying to soak up pressure, Bellingham was chasing down Sevilla’s midfielders and pushing the ball out wide all game. It was always going to be a tough task to defend for so long, and it just would not have happened without his legs in midfield. He constantly kept his cool when Sevilla players tried getting under his skin.

Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images

Mahmoud Dahoud

Just like Bellingham, Dahoud was all over the pitch tonight, putting in tough tackles and forcing the Sevilla midfielders wide with the ball. Starting the press high up the pitch for the opening goal, Dahoud gets the hockey assist for his beautiful reverse pass to Marco Reus in the box. Mo also had 3 longs shots from distance, which kept Sevilla goalkeeper Bono on his toes. His penalty versus Bayern aside, Dahoud has been great for a while a now, which started in the first leg of this tie.

Marco Reus

Dortmund’s captain put in a solid display again tonight, even if BVB did not dictate the match. Reus has always been known to be a technically gifted player, but I do not think he gets enough plaudits for his intelligence. Once Dortmund won the ball up high, Reus made a brilliant move into the box, just in the perfect spot to bait the goal-keeper into leaving his position which left Haaland open in front of net. Robert Lewandowski, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Paco Alcacer, and now Erling Haaland, Marco Reus knows how to reward a striker with goals.