Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Inter: Report, Ratings & Reaction as BVB Complete Historic UCL Comeback

?Borussia Dortmund produced a second-half performance for the ages as they fought back from 2-0 down to pick up all three points against Italian giants Inter on matchday four in the Champions League group stages on Tuesday night.

The visitors needed just five minutes to take the lead at the Westfalenstadion, with striker Lautaro Martínez capitalising on a poor defensive error from Manuel Akanji to score in his third consecutive Champions League game.

Romelu Lukaku was denied by the woodwork as they searched for a second goal, while soon after a last-ditch tackle from Julian Weigl ensured the Belgian’s name still wasn’t on the scoresheet in Germany.

Lautaro Martinez,Roman Burki

Inter did get their second when a stunning counter-attack was converted by defensive midfielder Matías Vecino, while Samir Handanovi? was forced into action to keep the visitors’ clean sheet intact heading into the break.

But Borussia Dortmund flipped the game on its head and needed just six second-half minutes to half the deficit through their most impressive player Achraf Hakimi, while Julian Brandt completed their comeback with a confident finish just after the hour mark.

Borussia Dortmund’s turnaround was completed when Hakimi combined with Jadon Sancho before finding the back of the net from close range, with Lucien Favre’s having just enough left in the tank to hold onto the win and to within one point of Barcelona in Group F.

Borussia Dortmund

Key Talking Point

Considering Lucien Favre’s side set up with four creative players in attack – their only real striker Paco Alcácer was on the bench – Borussia Dortmund were arguably at their worst this season in terms of producing goalscoring chances during the first-half.

The hosts were able to get themselves into dangerous areas, but half the time their final pass ended any chance of a shot at goal, while in other areas Dortmund’s overlapping full-backs were swinging crosses into a box without any of their teammates.

Axel Witsel,Julian Brandt

It was a game which turned on its head after half-time and Borussia Dortmund took control of the match, getting back on level terms through Achraf Hakimi and Julian Brandt during a stunning 20-minute spell.

Hakimi’s winning goal put the icing on the cake in what had been one of Borussia Dortmund’s best 45-minute spells ever, although there’s a danger that the historic comeback could paper over the cracks from their first-half performances.

Player Ratings

Burki (7); Hakimi (9*), Akanji (5), Hummels (4), Schulz (5); Witsel (8), Weigl (6), Brandt (6); Sancho (8), Hazard (6), Gotze (5).


Substitutes: Alcacer (7), Piszczek (6), Guerreiro (N/A).

Star Man

There wasn’t much to shout about for Borussia Dortmund with such a poor first-half display in defence and arguably an even worse one in attack but the hosts were a completely different team after half-time thanks to an early goal from Achraf Hakimi.

Even before Hakimi’s goal, the Morrocco international had been Borrusia Dortmund’s best player on the pitch, giving very few chances down his side of the pitch while also supporting Jadon Sancho in their attack.

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Hakimi, who celebrated his 21st birthday on Monday, then popped up with his sixth goal of the season to complete a historic comeback against Inter, combining perfectly with Sancho and highlighting exactly why he’s rated so highly by his parent club, Real Madrid.

Inter

Key Talking Point

If there’s any doubt about Inter’s title credentials in Serie A this season, Tuesday’s first-half performance in the Champions League should be more than enough evidence that Juventus might not be wearing a Scudetto next season.

From front to back Inter outfought and outclassed their opponents, seemingly winning every single duel with a Borussia Dortmund player during the opening 45 minutes.

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Things switched after the break and it was the hosts who had the upper hand in the match, bringing the game back to 2-2 in no time at all. 

Antonio Conte’s side didn’t have a sniff at goal for the majority of the second half and ultimately ended up on the losing side when Hakimi scored his second goal of the game, with the Nerazzurri leaving empty-handed despite hardly putting a foot wrong.

Player Ratings

Handanovic (7); Gofdin (8), Skriniar (7), de Vrij (7); Brozovic (7), Candreva (6), Vecino (7), Barella (7), Biraghi (5); Lukaku (7), Martinez (9).


Substitutes: Lazaro (7), Sensi (7), Politano (N/A).

Star Man

With eight goals already this season, Antonio Conte’s Inter really are starting to look towards Argentina international Lautaro Martínez as their talisman in attack.

The 22-year-old was sharp to pounce on a defensive error in the build-up to Inter’s opening goal, while Martínez also embarrassed Mats Hummels as his stunning solo effort broke the deadlock at the Westfalstadion.





While the likes of Diego Godín and Milan Škriniar couldn’t maintain their high-level performance for the entirety of the game, Martínez made the difference where it really mattered going forward and bullied the hosts’ defenders throughout the 90 minutes.

Looking Ahead

Borussia Dortmund face their biggest test of the Bundesliga season so far as they prepare for Der Klassiker against a Bayern Munich side who recently sacked manager Niko Kova?, with interim boss Hansi Flick instead taking charge.

Inter will look to leapfrog Juventus ahead of the international break as they host Hellas Verona.

For more from Ben Carter, follow him on Twitter!

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