Played
September 18, 2012 2:45 PM EDT
Signal-Iduna-Park — Dortmund
Referee: P. Tagliavento
Attendance: 65829
September 18, 2012 2:45 PM EDT
Signal-Iduna-Park — Dortmund
Referee: P. Tagliavento
Attendance: 65829
Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Ajax: Lewandowski nets late to seal Group D victory
The Bundesliga outfit dominated proceeding in the second half after an even opening 45 minutes, and the Poland international's late strike helped them to victory
By Stefan Coerts
Borussia Dortmund has recorded a 1-0 victory over Ajax at the Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday in their Champions League Group D opener.
The hosts should have opened the scoring in the second half via Mats Hummels, but the center back missed a spot kick. However, Robert Lewandowski's late goal helped Dortmund to the full three points after all.
BVB started the match with attacking intentions and threatened early on via Kuba and Lewandowski. However, the first big chance of the game was for Ajax following some sloppy play from Ilkay Gundogan. Ryan Babel stole the ball off the Dortmund midfielder's feet before setting up Christian Eriksen inside the area, but the Denmark international's shot was kept out by Roman Weidenfeller.
The home side then got a good chance itself shortly after as Mario Gotze seemed to escape the attention of the Ajax defense, but Niklas Moisander bullied the creative midfielder off the ball with a last-ditch tackle.
Robert Lewandowski did come close to breaking the deadlock at the half-hour mark, but he failed to find the net as Kenneth Vermeer forced him out wide. Marcel Schmelzer tested Vermeer with a powerful shot only minutes later, but the Ajax goalkeeper wasn't impressed and punched the ball wide.
Derk Boerrigter could have opened the scoring in the 35th minute, but the winger hesitated just too long, allowing Weidenfeller to rush off his line to intercept the through pass. The loose ball then ended up in Babel's feet, but his shot was deflected wide by Neven Subotic.
Ajax made a superb start to the second half and both Siem de Jong and Babel could have added their name to the score sheet. However, the former's shot after a corner kick was kept out by Weidenfeller, while the latter's header went over the crossbar.
Lewandowski then should have opened the scoring after evading the Ajax defense following a cross from the right, but the Poland star wildly blasted his shot over the bar. A brilliant through pass from Mario Gotze found Marco Reus one-on-one with Vermeer, but the Germany international failed to beat the Ajax goalkeeper.
Gotze then went to the ground rather easily after walking into Ricardo van Rhijn inside the Ajax area, but the referee deemed it enough for a spot kick. Mats Hummels stepped up to take it, but Vermeer once again proved to be too much of an obstacle.
Schmelzer then found himself in a dangerous position after 76 minutes of play, but the fullback hesitated just too long, allowing Van Rhijn to make a superb last-ditch tackle to clear the ball.
Nevertheless, BVB eventually got its winner after all as Lewandowski collected a cross from the left, evaded Toby Alderweireld's tackle, and fired home from close range to make it 1-0.
Dortmund's next Champions League match is the away game versus Manchester City on Oct. 3, while Ajax host Real Madrid on the same date.
The hosts should have opened the scoring in the second half via Mats Hummels, but the center back missed a spot kick. However, Robert Lewandowski's late goal helped Dortmund to the full three points after all.
BVB started the match with attacking intentions and threatened early on via Kuba and Lewandowski. However, the first big chance of the game was for Ajax following some sloppy play from Ilkay Gundogan. Ryan Babel stole the ball off the Dortmund midfielder's feet before setting up Christian Eriksen inside the area, but the Denmark international's shot was kept out by Roman Weidenfeller.
The home side then got a good chance itself shortly after as Mario Gotze seemed to escape the attention of the Ajax defense, but Niklas Moisander bullied the creative midfielder off the ball with a last-ditch tackle.
Robert Lewandowski did come close to breaking the deadlock at the half-hour mark, but he failed to find the net as Kenneth Vermeer forced him out wide. Marcel Schmelzer tested Vermeer with a powerful shot only minutes later, but the Ajax goalkeeper wasn't impressed and punched the ball wide.
Derk Boerrigter could have opened the scoring in the 35th minute, but the winger hesitated just too long, allowing Weidenfeller to rush off his line to intercept the through pass. The loose ball then ended up in Babel's feet, but his shot was deflected wide by Neven Subotic.
Ajax made a superb start to the second half and both Siem de Jong and Babel could have added their name to the score sheet. However, the former's shot after a corner kick was kept out by Weidenfeller, while the latter's header went over the crossbar.
Lewandowski then should have opened the scoring after evading the Ajax defense following a cross from the right, but the Poland star wildly blasted his shot over the bar. A brilliant through pass from Mario Gotze found Marco Reus one-on-one with Vermeer, but the Germany international failed to beat the Ajax goalkeeper.
Gotze then went to the ground rather easily after walking into Ricardo van Rhijn inside the Ajax area, but the referee deemed it enough for a spot kick. Mats Hummels stepped up to take it, but Vermeer once again proved to be too much of an obstacle.
Schmelzer then found himself in a dangerous position after 76 minutes of play, but the fullback hesitated just too long, allowing Van Rhijn to make a superb last-ditch tackle to clear the ball.
Nevertheless, BVB eventually got its winner after all as Lewandowski collected a cross from the left, evaded Toby Alderweireld's tackle, and fired home from close range to make it 1-0.
Dortmund's next Champions League match is the away game versus Manchester City on Oct. 3, while Ajax host Real Madrid on the same date.
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Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
-
Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Ajax
- 17.27 %
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Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Ajax
- 13.57 %
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Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Ajax
- 13.11 %
| UEFA Champions League (UCL) | Nov 21, 2012 | Ajax 1 - Borussia Dortmund 4 |
|
| UEFA Champions League (UCL) | Sep 18, 2012 | Borussia Dortmund 1 - Ajax 0 |
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Borussia Dortmund
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| May 18, 2013 | Borussia Dortmund 1 - TSG Hoffenheim 2 | GER1 |
| May 11, 2013 | Wolfsburg 3 - Borussia Dortmund 3 | GER1 |
| May 4, 2013 | Borussia Dortmund 1 - Bayern 1 | GER1 |
| Apr 30, 2013 | Real Madrid 2 - Borussia Dortmund 0 | UCL |
| Apr 27, 2013 | Fortuna Düsseldorf 1 - Borussia Dortmund 2 | GER1 |
Ajax
 |
||
| May 12, 2013 | Groningen 0 - Ajax 2 | ERE |
| May 5, 2013 | Ajax 5 - Willem II 0 | ERE |
| Apr 27, 2013 | NAC 0 - Ajax 2 | ERE |
| Apr 19, 2013 | Ajax 1 - Heerenveen 1 | ERE |
| Apr 14, 2013 | PSV 2 - Ajax 3 | ERE |
| 1 | Roman Weidenfeller | Goalkeeper |
| 15 | Mats Hummels | Defender |
| 29 | Marcel Schmelzer | Defender |
| 4 | Neven Subotic | Defender |
| 26 | Lukasz Piszczek | Defender |
| 8 | Ilkay Gündogan | Midfielder |
| 16 | Jakub Blaszczykowski | Midfielder |
| 10 | Mario Götze | Midfielder |
| 5 | Sebastian Kehl | Midfielder |
| 11 | Marco Reus | Midfielder |
| 9 | Robert Lewandowski | Striker |
| 20 | Mitchell Langerak | Goalkeeper |
| 27 | Felipe Santana | Defender |
| 14 | Ivan Perisic | Midfielder |
| 19 | Kevin Großkreutz | Midfielder |
| 7 | Moritz Leitner | Midfielder |
| 6 | Sven Bender | Midfielder |
| 23 | Julian Schieber | Striker |
| 1 | Kenneth Vermeer | Goalkeeper |
| 17 | Daley Blind | Defender |
| 25 | Niklas Moisander | Defender |
| 34 | Ricardo van Rhijn | Defender |
| 3 | Toby Alderweireld | Defender |
| 8 | Christian Eriksen | Midfielder |
| 5 | Christian Poulsen | Midfielder |
| 10 | Siem de Jong | Midfielder |
| 19 | Tobias Sana | Midfielder |
| 21 | Derk Boerrigter | Striker |
| 8 | Ryan Babel | Striker |
| 22 | Jasper Cillessen | Goalkeeper |
| 35 | Mitchell Dijks | Defender |
| 33 | Joël Veltman | Defender |
| 20 | Lasse Schöne | Midfielder |
| 25 | Thulani Serero | Midfielder |
| 37 | Jody Lukoki | Striker |
| 7 | Miralem Sulejmani | Striker |
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cristiano Ronaldo Striker Real Madrid |
12 | 0 |
|
Robert Lewandowski Striker Borussia Dortmund |
10 | 1 |
|
Thomas Müller Striker FC Bayern München |
8 | 1 |
|
Lionel Messi Striker Barcelona |
8 | 0 |
|
Burak Yılmaz Striker Galatasaray |
8 | 0 |
