After leading Borussia Dortmund to a 1-0 victory over Chelsea on Wednesday, forward Karim Adeyemi's long-range goal gave his team a solid chance to go to the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
Early in the second half, the visitors exerted prolonged dominance, and Adeyemi's goal came during such time. The German forward capitalized on a clearance from a Chelsea corner.
To give Dortmund the advantage in the first leg of the match, Adeyemi saw the chance and sprinted the length of the field, dodging both Enzo Fernandez and goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
According to Dortmund captain Jude Bellingham, when Adeyemi is in open space, "not many players can actually stop him."
Did you read this?
"He had a hard time getting here at first, finding his feet, but now he's flying," the speaker said.
Adeyemi lauded his team's fighting spirit after the game for giving them the upper hand before the return leg in London in March.
I'm pretty delighted about the goal, but I had a little luck," he remarked.
Everyone fought for everyone else, and victory was crucial for the next leg.
Graham Potter, the manager of Chelsea, praised his team's effort but lamented their inability to score.
"We almost scored for ourselves. On us, Borussia broke. It isn't very reassuring, and we must improve.
"We have a team that is working, and we know there are many good things there."
Because of the victory, Dortmund needs a draw in London to advance to the quarterfinals for the second time in the last four years.
Dortmund is resolute
The visitors' individual quality and quickness on the counter were evident, even though Potter may still be attempting to organize his team of pricey imports to perform as a team.
Early on, Mykhailo Mudryk's pace affected the home team repeatedly, and after 15 minutes, it caused Dortmund centre-back Niklas Suele to loop a backheeled clearance.
Mudryk, who was awarded a free kick to the left of the penalty area, put Chelsea back on the offensive shortly after.
Thiago Silva scored from a free kick for Chelsea, but the home team surrounded referee Jesus Gil Manzano in displeasure.
Silva was issued a booking after a VAR review revealed that the Chelsea skipper had handled the cross purposefully.
As the home team dominated possession, Dortmund's Julian Brandt and Bellingham continued to plan attacks, making them susceptible to Chelsea's counterattacking raids.
Joao Felix of Chelsea had the best opportunity of the first half when he outmuscled Dortmund fullback Marius Wolf inside the penalty area to create a shooting opportunity, but his shot struck the crossbar.
Brandt brushed off a defender to create space for himself just inside the penalty area as Wolf nearly put Dortmund in ahead shortly before halftime, but his curling effort flew wide.
Emre Can, a midfielder for Dortmund, received a yellow card for bringing down an oncoming Reece James in the opening moments of the second half due to Chelsea's dominance.
To relieve the pressure, goalkeeper Gregor Kobel saved the free kick.
After 60 minutes, James had another one-on-one opportunity with Kobel, this time in open play, but the Swiss goalkeeper deflected his shot over the crossbar.
The offside flag rose; however, the referee still had the advantage. After the ball came into Adeyemi's path after Chelsea's corner bounced about in the box.
Germany forward, officially timed in February as the quickest player in Bundesliga history, threaded the ball into the net from a sharp angle while eluding approaching Fernandez and Kepa.
When Kalidou Koulibaly's shot dribbled goalward in the 78th minute, Chelsea appeared poised to score. However, the Borussia defender eliminates the threat before it crosses the goal line and clears the ball to safety.
