Key events
No word from Eddie Howe, with TNT Sports flipping immediately to the Atletico Madrid v Celtic game. (You can follow that with John Brewin here.) But never mind! Jonathan Liew was in Dortmund and his report is in. Here it is. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
Dortmund go top of Group F, at least for a couple of hours. Milan host PSG in tonight’s other game. Newcastle meanwhile remain in third spot, but they’re now in danger of losing touch with the top two. Next up: a trip to Paris, then Milan turn up at St James’ Park. The Toon have plenty of work to do if they’re to make it to the knockout stage; Europa League participation is also far from certain. But they did beat PSG 4-1 at home, after all, so nobody will be giving up the ghost just yet.
FULL TIME: Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Newcastle United
For the second time in as many weeks, Dortmund have too much nous for a callow Newcastle. Qualification for the knockouts will be an uphill battle for Eddie Howe’s men now.
90 min +2: … Brandt breaks yet again, only to run into bother quickly.
90 min +1: Livramento finds space down the left and attempts to float a chip over Kobel from the tightest of angles. Corner, from which …
90 min: There will be three added minutes. “Newcastle bring on Wiley (17, no CL experience). Dortmund sub in Reus (34, Dortmund’s all time CL goalscorer),” writes Joe Pearson. “And that’s all you need to know.”
89 min: Moukoko hassles Livramento down the right but once again the young Newcastle full-back shows his class to ensure there’s no way through. “There’s been much to praise about Dortmund’s performance, but perhaps most impressive has been their patience,” writes Kári Tulinius. “They’ve never looked frazzled against Newcastle, which can’t be said about many teams who’ve faced the Magpies.”
87 min: Fullkrug, his work thus done in more ways than one, departs for Moukoko.
86 min: Brandt leads Dortmund on a three-against-two. He looks for Fullkrug in the middle, but his cross is poor and easily cleared by Lascelles. Speaking of Fullkrug, and in response to Peter Oh’s latest zinger (65 min), here’s Marc Haemmerling: “‘Krug’ in German means ‘mug’ or ‘jug’. So BVB have definitely reason to see the mug (half) Füll again.”
84 min: Newcastle look visibly deflated. Suddenly their play is ragged. The home fans are giving it plenty, a celebration that includes plenty of yellow ticker-tape.
82 min: Lewis Miley, 17, comes on for his European debut. Willock makes way.
81 min: Reus comes on for Adeyemi. Newcastle throw men forward, as they have to, and Dortmund counter again. Ryerson attacks fast down the inside-left channel, shimmies infield, and sends a weak bobbler through to Pope.
GOAL! Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Newcastle United (Brandt 79)
Trippier’s free kick is awful. He fails to beat the first man. Dortmund clear their lines, and suddenly one long punt sends Brandt and Sabitzer away on a two-on-one attack! Livramento tries his best to hold Brandt up, but he’s caught between a rock and a hard place. Brandt feints to make some space down the left flank, then shoots low and hard, across Pope and into the bottom right. What a clinical counter! What a finish! What bother Newcastle are in now.
78 min: Willock and Almiron double up to attack down the left wing. Hummels earns a roar from the Yellow Wall with a crunching tackle on the former; Adeyemi then carelessly clanks into the latter to concede a free kick. Chance for Trippier to whip one into the box.
77 min: More space for Brandt out left. He saunters past Trippier before hitting a diagonal shot-cum-cross that sails well wide of the right-hand post.
75 min: Space for Brandt down the left. He’s got Adeyemi and Fullkrug in the middle, free, but slams his cross into the nearest green shirt. Careless. Newcastle were exposed there.
73 min: Pope is fine to continue. When the game restarts, Livramento and Adeyemi tussle down the Dortmund right. The latter wants a free kick on the edge of the box when the pair fall over; the referee simply waves play on. Livramento is having a fine game.
72 min: Ah, there was no need for the written instructions, because Pope is down with a sore leg, so as he gets treatment, Eddie Howe is able to gather the rest of his men to issue his orders verbally.
71 min: … Pope claim and release the pressure on Newcastle. Meanwhile Joelinton is handed a note from the bench. Some tactical instruction, I’ll be bound.
70 min: Brandt hits the corner long. Hummels rises on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box but his header is deflected wide left by that man Livramento. From that corner, delivered from the left by Brandt, Nmecha can’t quite guide an effort on target. But it’s another corner, which sees …
69 min: Adeyemi drops a shoulder and looks to skin Livramento down the right. Livramento has pace to burn himself and sticks to his man, conceding a corner rather than an opportunity to shoot.
67 min: Dortmund send a speculative long ball down the right. Pope comes out to the edge of his box to claim, only to hesitate with Brandt in the immediate environs. Lascelles pops up between the two to hook clear and save his keeper’s blushes.
65 min: Joelinton clips Adeyemi to the floor out on the right and it’s a free kick. A chance to load the box. Brandt delivers; Pope claims. “Dortmund fans who were pessimistic after the weekend drubbing in The Harry Kane Show have reason to see the glass as half Füll again.” Peter Oh, ladies and gentlemen. He’s here all week. Try the sausages/gold bars.
63 min: Willock sends a soft effort straight at Kobel from the edge of the box. If there’s to be another goal, good luck accurately predicting which team gets it. “According to German media, those balls were thrown at halftime in protest to the upcoming changes to the Champions League next season,” reports Vafa Ghazi.
62 min: … nothing comes. Brandt plays it short, the ball disappearing off down a cul-de-sac.
61 min: Brandt swings it in. Schar half clears. The ball’s worked down the left and pulled back for Adeyemi, who is preparing to shoot from 12 yards when Guimaraes arrives from behind to take it off his toe and hoick out for a corner, from which …
60 min: Lascelles comes crashing into the back of Fullkrug and this is a free kick in a central position, 30 yards out.
58 min: Brandt sends a curler towards the bottom left. Pope fingertips around the post brilliantly, but doesn’t get the credit for the save because the referee and linesman award Newcastle a goal kick. Like Pope will care about that.
57 min: That was one hell of a cross by Livramento, who is quickly establishing a reputation as a serious player. Joelinton would have felt the presence of Ozcan just behind him, but even so, he really should have tucked that one away.
56 min: Newcastle should be level. Livramento swings a glorious cross in from the right flank. Joelinton stoops near the far stick, six yards out, only to steer his downward header wide when it was surely easier to score. What a chance!
55 min: Previous to that protest, most of Dortmund’s best attacks on Newcastle had come from the right.
53 min: … so it turns out that those cardboard containers were in fact representations of gold bars, and the Yellow Wall has displayed a banner which argues that Newcastle are more interested in money than football itself.
51 min: Willock nearly gets clear down the left but Adeyemi displays defensive chops by getting back to forcefully step in the way and shepherd the ball out for a goal kick.
50 min: Almiron curls towards the bottom left. Wide. Then up the other end, Brandt tries for the bottom right. Pope turns the shot around for a corner, from which nothing comes. A pretty lively start to the second half, with Newcastle in Go For It mode. They don’t really have any other option.
48 min: A pause as Kobel’s box is littered with cardboard sausage containers and a couple of tennis balls. Once the area is cleared, Newcastle come at Dortmund, and come at them hard: Livramento is sent scampering into space by Schar’s clever wedge down the right. He crosses low. There are a couple of green shirts waiting to slam home, but Kobel gets down to fingertip away from them, and Dortmund clean up again.
47 min: Nmecha releases Adeyemi down the Dortmund right. Adeyemi cuts infield and has the opportunity to shoot or find Sabitzer free in the box on the left. He hesitates. Schar holds him up impressively, and though Adeyemi eventually pulls the trigger, the ball deflects harmlessly through to Pope.
Newcastle get the second half started, having made two changes. Hall and Wilson make way for Gordon and Almiron.
Half-time entertainment.
HALF TIME: Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Newcastle United
One minute of added time. One last chance for Newcastle as Trippier sends a free kick long and into the Dortmund box. The hosts clear and counter, but Sabitzer can only send a weak cross into the Newcastle area and that’s that. Dortmund lead, but Newcastle have come back at them impressively, even if Kobel hasn’t had any serious work to do.
45 min: Trippier sends the corner long. Lascelles is free on the left-hand edge of the six-yard box and heads across for Joelinton, who heads towards the top left but can’t get enough power on the effort to beat Kobel. Easy for the keeper.
44 min: Longstaff and Livramento combine briskly down the right and win another corner. Trippier wanders across to take.
43 min: Lascelles tries a long pass down the middle, looking for Longstaff, but there’s too much juice on the ball. Kobel comes out to claim.
41 min: Nmecha clatters into Guimaraes down the Newcastle right. A chance for Trippier to swing a free kick into the mixer … but instead he unveils another training-ground effort, and a long-range one-two with Willock doesn’t come off as planned. Goal kick.
39 min: A short sequence of garden-variety free kicks go Newcastle’s way in the middle of the park. More irritated whistles. Dortmund are leading, but the home fans know their team are now in a game.
37 min: Joelinton very nearly brings down a simple long pass down the middle. An inch away from the ball sticking to his boot. He’d have been through on goal. Possibly offside … but possibly not. More promise for Newcastle.
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
