A superb solo goal from Karim Adeyemi proved decisive as Borussia Dortmund beat Chelsea 1-0 in the first leg of their round-of-16 clash in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Adeyemi lit up a tight encounter at the Signal Iduna Park midway through the second half, running from deep inside his own half in a swift counterattack.
The Germany attacker first sprinted past Chelsea’s new big-money addition Enzo Fernández before rounding goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to slot home the only goal of the game.
Dortmund manager Edin Terzić began his post-game admiration of Adeyemi’s goal highlighting the 21-year-old’s speed. “Meep Meep,” Terzić told BT Sport; a reference to the Roadrunner cartoon.
“This is the quality of Karim. It was a corner kick and we defended it quite well – it was a dangerous situation – but then when you see his acceleration, this is something we showed him at halftime,” he explained.
“He had one opportunity in the first half to get into this kind of duel just to set the ball maybe 10-15 yards in front of him and then to show his pace. And this is what he did. His first touch was there to accelerate the game and then, if you’re quick like this, it’s going to be very tough for any defense to defend him. And it was a great goal. It was very important as it was the winning goal.”
Adeyemi’s moment of brilliance in the second half was the only moment of true quality in a game of missed opportunities for both sides, in what was the two clubs’ first-ever competitive game.
It was a frustrating evening for Chelsea’s front line in particular and, specifically, Portuguese star João Félix.
Félix missed two presentable chances in the opening 45 minutes – first shooting over from a good position and then hitting the cross bar – while also shooting straight at Gregor Kobel late on.
Kobel had to be alert to deny Chelsea right back Reece James twice in the second half as the Premier League side huffed and puffed to create openings. Sébastien Haller and Julian Brandt also went close for the home side.
After Adeyemi’s moment of brilliance, it looked like Chelsea might have finally gotten an equalizer when Kalidou Koulibaly’s deflected strike appeared to be agonizingly heading over the line, only for Emre Can to appear out of nowhere and clear the ball to safety.
But while Chelsea manager Graham Potter lamented the nature of the winning goal, saying he was “disappointed” with the counterattack, he explained he wasn’t too dismayed with the overall performance from his team.
“I thought we had good attacking movements, there was a bit of clarity in how we were trying to attack, got into the areas we were trying to get to quite often, showed real personality, the personality of a team that’s growing and growing. It was really positive,” Potter told BT Sport.
The win was Dortmund’s first against Premier League opposition in 11 attempts and means the German club has now won all seven of its fixtures in 2023. Conversely, Chelsea has just one win in nine.
The teams will meet at Stamford Bridge on March 7 for the second leg with Dortmund holding a one-goal advantage.
