Slavia Prague 0-2 Borussia Dortmund: Achraf double drags BVB to victory
Achraf Hakimi scored in each half to seal an unconvincing win for Borussia Dortmund over Slavia Prague on Wednesday.
Borussia Dortmund claimed their first win of the Champions League group stage this season after battling to a 2-0 victory away to Slavia Prague.
Achraf Hakimi struck in each half to settle a scrappy encounter in the Czech Republic and move Dortmund top of Group F ahead of Barcelona‘s meeting with Inter.
The brilliance of Marc-Andre ter Stegen mostly kept Dortmund frustrated against Barca in their opening match, but Wednesday’s performance was more in keeping with recent Bundesliga draws with Eintracht Frankfurt and Werder Bremen, in which they surrendered leads to draw 2-2.
Jadon Sancho tested Ondrej Kolar within two minutes of kick-off as Dortmund made a bright start in front of Slavia fans bedecked in red and white rain ponchos to create an intimidating sight.
They were silenced 10 minutes before the break, though, when Achraf started a counter-attack from his own box, combined with Julian Brandt and, having skipped away from goalkeeper and covering defenders, fired high into the Slavia net.
Sancho’s heavy touch made a mess of a one-on-one after the restart, as Dortmund’s performance soon descended into the erratic, with one particularly careless Marco Reus clearance giving Petr Sevcik a chance he should have done better with.
Achraf was denied by Kolar on the break as Slavia pushed for an equaliser, but the Real Madrid loanee made no mistake with his next opening, firing between the legs of the keeper with his left foot with barely a minute of normal time left.
1 – @AchrafHakimi is the first player from Morocco who scores twice in a Champions League match. He also had the most shots of all @BlackYellow players (4). Rising pic.twitter.com/9rO0Zg768d
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) October 2, 2019
What does it mean? Dortmund unconvincing but on track for next round
The display will likely not please head coach Lucien Favre, but it was enough to move Dortmund to four points from two games and give them a solid platform from which to aim for the last 16.
Tougher tests await with two meetings with Inter and a trip to Camp Nou, so they will likely return to Germany with a sense of relief, as well as an eagerness to improve.
Achraf a surprising livewire
Achraf has always been a menace going forward, but he was Dortmund’s most dangerous player here in an attacking role. His goals were expertly taken, and he could have had a hat-trick were it not for Kolar.
BVB’s slack finishing cannot continue
Sancho wasted two openings and Reus could not reach a low cross for a tap-in, meaning Dortmund were far less comfortable than they might have been in the second half. They will have to be more clinical going forward.
Key Opta Stats:
– Dortmund have won five of their eight Champions League group-stage games under Favre (W5 D2 L1).
– Slavia are winless in seven Champions League matches (W0 D3 L4), failing to score in four of those.
– Dortmund have kept eight clean sheets in their last 11 European matches in the Europa League and Champions League combined (W5 D3 L3).
– Hakimi became the fourth player aged under 21 to score a Champions League goal for Dortmund under Favre, after Christian Pulisic, Jacob Bruun Larsen and Sancho.
– Aged 20 years and 332 days, Hakimi became the youngest player to score an away Champions League brace since Kylian Mbappe (18y 113d) in April 2017 for Monaco away at Dortmund themselves.
What’s next?
Dortmund head to Inter on matchday three, while Slavia host Barcelona.
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