Borussia Dortmund does not fail in Zagreb and Benfica and PSV come back in extremis

Borussia Dortmund has risen to fourth position in the classification of the league phase of the Champions League after beating Dinamo Zagreb this Wednesday (0-3), in a fifth day in which Aston Villa and Juventus tied without goals (0-0) and in which Benfica and PSV Eindhoven made comebacks against Monaco (2-3) and Shakhtar Donetsk (3-2), both weighed down by expulsions.

The Germans started strongly at the Maksimir stadium, where they laid siege to the Croatian goal with Rami Bensebaini leading the offensive danger. The Algerian left back hit the post after seven minutes, and shortly after tried his luck with a header that went wide. The post also thwarted Donyell Malen’s goal just before the half-hour mark.

Shortly before the break, Nuri Sahin’s team found the reward for their persistence in a spectacular play by Jamie Gittens, which he himself finished with a great shot from the edge of the area that slipped into the back of the net (min.41).

Already in the second half, after a very clear chance by Nico Schlotterbeck with a save by Danijel Zagorac, a header from Bensebaini after a corner kick (min.56) and Serhou Guirassy, ​​in the 90th minute, sealed the match for the German team. With this, Dortmund – which has only lost at the Bernabéu – rises to fourth place and has 12 points.

Meanwhile, Monaco suffered its first defeat of the championship against Benfica (2-3), all in a match in which Wilfried Singo was sent off in the 58th minute. Eliesse Ben Seghir put the Principality team ahead in the 13th minute, that as soon as they returned from the locker room they were about to double their advantage in a shot by Breel Embolo that repelled the post. In the subsequent play, Vangelis Pavlidis tied for the Portuguese (min.48).

Two goals disallowed, one to the local Maghnes Akliouche and the other to the visitor Alexander Bah, preceded the expulsion of Wilfried Singo for a double yellow. However, despite playing at a disadvantage, the Monegasques were able to take the lead again through Soungoutou Magassa (min.67).

In the 84th minute, Arthur Cabral equalized the contest with a header, and just four minutes later Zeki Amdouni, with an assist from Ángel Di María, sealed the comeback, allowing the Portuguese team to forget its last two setbacks. Even so, Monaco is eighth, the last of the direct access positions to the round of 16.

Furthermore, Aston Villa drew against Juventus (0-0), a result that still makes them depend on themselves to get directly into the playoffs. Unai Emery’s men found the net in stoppage time, but the VAR annulled the goal due to a foul on Michele Di Gregorio. The English are ninth with the same points as Monaco (10), while the Italians are nineteenth after three rounds without winning.

At the Philips Stadion, PSV Eindhoven completed a spectacular comeback with three goals in the final minutes against Shakhtar Donetsk (3-2), hampered by Pedrinho’s expulsion in the 69th minute. Goals from Danylo Sikan and Oleksandr Zubkov gave them the advantage to the Ukrainians, who were already inferior, seeing how the American Malik Tillman, with goals in the 87th and 90th, and his compatriot Ricardo Pepi, in ’95, rescued victory for the Dutch.

For its part, Lille, with a double from Ngalayel Mukau, settled into the ‘Playoff’ positions by beating Bologna at the Renato Dall’Ara (1-2), while Celtic and Bruges shared the points ( 1-1). Furthermore, Red Star achieved its first victory in this edition of the ‘Champions’ at the expense of Stuttgart (5-1), which suffered its second consecutive defeat.