Dinamo Zagreb – Borussia Dortmund 0:3 (0:1)
Borussia Dortmund has in the Champions League won 3-0 (1-0) against Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb. This means the club has a good chance of qualifying directly for the round of 16 of the tournament. In the Maksimir Stadium, Jamie Gittens (41st), Ramy Bensebaini (57th) and Serhou Guirassy (90th) scored the goals in front of around 25,000 spectators. BVB had previously lost six away games in a row across all competitions.
At the start of the game, Dortmund didn’t let the hosts get a chance. Bensebaini headed the ball onto the crossbar after seven minutes, and again and again the outside players dribbled towards the penalty area: Donyell Malen from the right, Gittens from the left. Dortmund were also dangerous from set pieces. Zagreb sometimes had six players in the defensive line, but former Mainz player Ronaël Pierre-Gabriel (16th) and Luka Stojković (18th) also shot sharply at the BVB goal.
As things progressed, Dinamo’s very young team got better; BVB coach Nuri Şahin was visibly dissatisfied with the division in Dortmund’s midfield despite another hit on the crossbar by Malen (28th). The offensive momentum was gone until Malen missed a huge chance with his header (41′). Seconds later, Gittens finished with a well-placed shot into the far corner.
Julian Brandt didn’t come out of the locker room for the second half due to thigh problems. There was initially no diagnosis. BVB remained superior, while Dinamo continued to make no changes to their defensive style of play. After a corner from Pascal Groß, Bensebaini took advantage of a major defensive mistake by Dinamo with his header. The game was thus decided. BVB continued to play confidently and with experience, withdrew a little and saved some of their energy for the upcoming Bundesliga game against FC Bayern Munich. Zagreb was no longer dangerous. Shortly before the end, substitute Guirassy completed a counterattack to the final score.
Red Star Belgrade – VfB Stuttgart 5:1 (2:1)
VfB Stuttgart missed their second win of the current Champions League season at Red Star Belgrade and has to worry about qualifying for the next round. The German runner-up lost to the previously pointless champions from Serbia 1:5 (1:2). Ermedin Demirović (5th minute) gave VfB an early lead. But the one from the Swabians Belgrade Loaned Silas (12th) and Rade Krunić (31st) turned the game around for Red Star before the break. The goals from Mirko Ivanić (65th) and Nemanja Radonjić (69th/88th) sealed Stuttgart’s clear defeat.
There was a tense atmosphere in the Rajko Mitić Stadium from the start. From Stuttgart’s perspective, however, there was initially reason to be happy: in the 5th minute of the game, Demirović confidently converted a header from Enzo Millot with a touchdown. Chris Führich had previously had the chance to take the early lead for Stuttgart. However, the goal did not bring calm to the Stuttgart game. Instead, Silas won the ball against Millot and scored with a well-placed low shot after a sprint. The Congolese had stated before the game that he would like to return to the German runners-up next summer. Instead of celebrating, he raised his arms apologetically after his goal.
As a result, VfB appeared unsettled and made a number of inaccuracies in the build-up to the game. In addition, the defense was not consistent enough: Krunić shot a cross from the left into the box hard under the crossbar. Shortly before, another goal from Stuttgart’s Demirović had been disallowed due to a very slight offside position (28′).
VfB coach Sebastian Hoeneß reacted at half-time and replaced Pascal Stenzel on the right with Fabian Rieder. The Stuttgart team came out of the locker room energetically, but were countered several times. In the 52nd minute of the game, Silas stumbled and shot the ball directly into the arms of Alexander Nübel. A little later, the VfB keeper was challenged again when he took the ball from the foot of the onrushing Cherif Ndiaye (58th). However, Nübel had no chance against Ivanić’s header from a corner, and just four minutes later Radonjić made it 4-1 for the Serbs with a low shot. When Radonjić scored again shortly before the end in stoppage time, the game had long since been decided.
