- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,153,068
- Reaction score
- 59
You must be registered for see images
DORTMUND, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 17: Serhou Guirassy of Borussia Dortmund and Felix Nmecha of Borussia Dortmund celebrate their team's first goal during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Knockout Play-off First Leg match between Borussia Dortmund and Atalanta BC at BVB Stadion Dortmund on February 17, 2026 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Rene Nijhuis/MB Media/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Borussia Dortmund put in an excellent performance tonight, beating Atalanta 2-0 and giving themselves an excellent chance of progressing to the Champions League knockout stages. Despite coming into the first leg of the Champions League play-offs with barely any centre-backs and a bench full of local children, BVB comfortably outplayed Atalanta and put themselves in a great spot heading into the second leg in Italy next week.
Serhou Guirassy opened the scoring just three minutes into the game, heading home from a Julian Ryerson cross (of course), and he set up Maximilian Beier for Dortmund’s second just before halftime. Dortmund almost made it 3-0 just before halftime, but Waldemar Anton’s header went wayward, and Julian Brandt also saw a difficult volley go over the bar just after the break. But you really couldn’t have asked for much more from BVB tonight. They completely shut down Atalanta and were good value for their 2-0 win.
Dortmund got off to the perfect start to their vital four-game stretch over the next two weeks. Hopefully this will be the confidence boost they need to continue their winning streak to close out February. Here are your nominations for Man of the Match in Borussia Dortmund’s 2-0 win against Atalanta.
Serhou Guirassy
A goal and an assist in the first half, this is not the first time Guirassy has put the team on his back lately (though this time the rest of the team followed). Atalanta’s defense couldn’t cope with Guirassy all night long, and even when he couldn’t get good looks on goal he was doing a great job of bringing others into play.
Julian Ryerson
Another Ryerson cross for a Guirassy goal. This combination is dragging BVB kicking and screaming into a title race, and possibly into the Champions League knockout phase. Ryerson was as industrious as ever out of possession, and he created several dangerous chances from set pieces that could have increased Dortmund’s advantage.
Maximilian Beier
Beier worked hard to provide support for Guirassy tonight, and his efforts were rewarded with a goal just before halftime. I thought he did his part defensively and was able to get into some really good positions in and around Atalanta’s penalty area. Another quietly good performance from the German forward.
Felix Nmecha
There were a few different players competing for this fourth spot. I thought Ramy Bensebaini and Jobe Bellingham both made good cases for a nomination, but Felix Nmecha sneaks in ahead of them. Nmecha shielded BVB’s makeshift backline excellently and was a solid contributor in possession too.
Your Thoughts?
What did you think of BVB’s performance tonight? Can they finish the job in the return leg? Let us know in the comments.
Continue reading...
