Liverpool and Dortmund fought out a 1-1 draw at the Westfalenstadion. Liverpool secured a vital away goal, thanks to Divock Origi who started this game in place of regular starter Daniel Sturridge and he restored his manager’s faith in his abilities. There was exciting football on display throughout the 90 minutes and it was an exciting game to watch even for neutral fans.
Liverpool started the game with a positive in front of a strong Dortmund crowd. The Reds were not afraid to attack and went into the Dortmund third on a number of occasions. Dortmund soon found their footing though and they were putting Liverpool under pressure, up until the 30th minute mark. The expectant players like Marco Reus and Patrick Aubameyang were the danger-men for Dortmund but it was Henrikh Mkhitaryan in midfield who was dictating the tempo of the game for Dortmund. Simon Mignolet was called into action on a number of occasions and he had to pull off a few routine saves.
It was however, Liverpool who took the lead in the 35th minute through a wonderful Divock Origi strike. A lobbed ball by James Milner was flicked on by Jordan Henderson to Origi who made no mistake and gave Liverpool the lead. Liverpool’s defence at the end of the first half was being put under intense pressure by Dortmund but centre-backs Mahmadou Sakho and Dejan Lovren did not disappoint and put their bodies on the line to preserve Liverpool’s lead going into the break.
Dortmund stated the second half brightly and they got a goal through captain Mats Hummels’ header. Patrick Aubameyang’s ball from near the corner flag was dispatched effectively by the German international and for a moment, highlighted Liverpool’s weaknesses in set pieces. Liverpool however, did not sit back easy after this goal and the work-rate in midfield was the reason for Liverpool’s positive attacking intent. James Milner and Jordan Henderson performed tirelessly and showed great maturity for the Reds. However, Jordan Henderson had to be withdrawn due to a knee injury and it would be interesting to see if he would be available for the return leg of this encounter.
Dortmund will have keeper Roman Weidenfeller to thank after he pulled off a few big saves towards the end of the game from Coutinho to keep his side in the game. The return leg of this game will be an interesting one as both teams showed their attacking prowess in this game. Liverpool have a slight advantage due to an away goal and a home leg win is not out of bounds. Manager, Jurgen Klopp got his tactics spot-on against his former side and has put opposing manager, Henry Tuchel under immense pressure to put up a big performance next week at Anfield.
