PLAYER RATINGS | Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Lille: Karim Adeyemi opens scoring but work to do for BVB | OneFootball

It was a tale of two halves between Borussia Dortmund and Lille in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 on Tuesday night. Karim Adeyemi opened the scoring midway through the first-half as Die Schwarzgelben controlled the game, but Hákon Arnar Haraldsson’s equaliser shortly after the break saw the visitors grow in confidence, taking the game to Niko Kovac’s side.

Dortmund control first half, but Lille grow in confidence

Karim Adeyemi – who has started every game under Niko Kovac – had an early sight of goal after three minutes, cutting inside from the right before dragging his left-footed shot just wide. Lille OSC then looked to impose themselves on the game but created few at the Westfalenstadion. It was Dortmund who took charge of the game when Serhou Guirassy – formerly of Lille – came close, but it was Adeyemi that broke the deadlock after 23 minutes after the ball fell to the 23-year-old on the edge of the area following a corner – his low driven half-volley was placed into the bottom corner past a stricken Lucas Chevalier who stood no chance. Lille almost struck back instantly with Ngal’ayel Mukau firing just wide, but Dortmund gained a foothold in the game, controlling the remainder of the half with Julian Brandt and Nico Schlotterbeck having opportunities to double Dortmund’s lead. Pascal Groß also had the ball in the net, but it was ruled out for offside with no protest from the BVB players.

A scrappy start to the second-half, Jonathan David had the first chance six minutes after the break as Lille started to come to life. The Canadian’s effort was blocked by Daniel Svensson, who later went off injured. Julian Ryerson – returning to the squad following an illness – had a physical battle with Hákon Arnar Haraldsson as the visitors went pressing for an equaliser. The Icelandic international was then rewarded with his goal when Emre Can stepped up to close down David, allowing the LOSC attacker to latch onto a pass from the Canadian, placing the ball past Gregor Kobel in front of the Yellow Wall.

The pendulum continued to swing in Lille’s favour as the French side continued to control the game in the second-half. Bruno Génésio’s side went to the Westfalenstadion and trumped Dortmund – who looked tired – in possession (42-58), shots (7-9), big chances (0-1) and accurate passes (332-480). The Yellow Wall didn’t faze the visitors and although Borussia Dortmund will feel as though they can get the job done in France, it’s Lille who will certainly go into the return leg the happier of the two teams.

Borussia Dortmund Player Ratings

Gregor Kobel (6) – Julian Ryerson (6), Emre Can (5), Nico Schlotterbeck (7), Daniel Svensson (6) – Pascal Groß (6), Marcel Sabitzer (5) – Karim Adeyemi (7), Julian Brandt (6), Jamie Gittens (5) – Serhou Guirassy (5)

Others: Maximilian Beier (5), Gio Reyna (-), Ramy Bensebaini (-), Yan Couto (-)

GGFN | Daniel Pinder