BVB also winless against Milan in the premier class
Edin Terzic warmly applauded his players, while the BVB professionals were met with chants and encouraging applause from the south terrace.
Borussia Dortmund still have to wait for their first Champions League win of the season despite a strong fighting performance. BVB were held to a 0-0 draw by top Italian soccer club AC Milan.
"I think we played a decent game in terms of commitment, willpower and willingness to run. But what we lacked today was penetration," said coach Terzic on DAZN. "It was an even game, which is why it was a deserved draw."
Two games, one point
BVB now have just one point after two games in Hammer Group F, which also includes Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United. In front of 81,365 spectators in Dortmund's atmospheric stadium, the Revierclub played with commitment and created chances, but were too imprecise in front of goal.
"We put in a good performance. I thought we were very superior, but we were a bit careless at times," said international striker Niclas Füllkrug. "That can still give us confidence and you can see that anything is possible in this group. You can't write anyone off in this group." At the same time, Newcastle surprisingly won 4:1 against PSG.
BVB played as they had in previous Bundesliga games: without any great spectacle. But at least Borussia impressed from the start with compactness and aggression on the ball. Milan only became dangerous in the 37th minute when Olivier Giroud suddenly found himself free in front of Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel - but fired the ball over the goal.
Overhead kick from Brandt
Otherwise, the hosts gradually worked their way into the duel with the Italians. Shots from Donyell Malen (28') and Niclas Füllkrug (31') just missed the target, while Julian Brandt's overhead kick (36') was just wide. Whenever the visitors were dangerous, it was almost exclusively through the extremely quick Rafael Leão down the left flank.
In order to stop the Portuguese international, Terzic opted for his usual back four around veteran Mats Hummels. Niklas Süle was therefore once again only on the bench, while captain Emre Can was once again allowed to play from the start. The 29-year-old led the way in midfield with healthy toughness and received a questionable yellow card in the 25th minute. The action was emblematic of Dortmund's play.
Terzic's team worked hard, fought - and relied on Brandt's creativity in attack. Almost all attacks were initiated by the international. After the disappointing 2-0 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in the season opener, Borussia wanted to step up their attacking game this time. However, it was not always possible to find space against the deep-lying visitors.
Milan rely on counter-attacks
From this compact defense, Milan played on the counterattack. In addition to the speedy Leão, the Italians relied on another pacey dribbler who is well known in Dortmund: Christian Pulisic, who played for BVB until 2019. In the 54th minute, the American suddenly had a great chance to take the lead, but failed to beat Kobel from a few meters out.
Such spaces presented themselves to the visitors because BVB were now determined to take the lead. Terzic went for the win and brought on the fast attacking players Karim Adeyemi (64') and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (72'). The BVB coach tirelessly urged his players on from the sidelines, but Dortmund lacked precision in their finishing for long stretches of the game. And in the end, the hosts were also lucky.
First, Milan striker Samuel Chukwueze (86') failed to beat Kobel, who once again reacted strongly, and Tijjani Reijnders' follow-up shot went just wide. But Dortmund also had further chances in a match that was now becoming increasingly open - but, as before, failed to take advantage of them.
Source: www.dpa.com
