2018-19 UEFA Champions League Group Stage Matchday 3: Borussia Dortmund vs Atlético Madrid

Alcacer is questionable. He has thigh issues which were the reasons for getting subbed early against Stuttgart. I hope Favre is only bluffing in claiming that no decision has been made yet but I fear we'll have to play this important game without him.

 

The only thing Atletico has that is enviable is a top European coach. We are doing better than them this season domestically. We have enjoyed similar success in the recent years: CL finals, domestic titles and cups. Why are some fans so dissatisfied to use their success as a stick to beat the club they support, especially when the stick isnt even a good stick?

Is it reasonable to demand Aki to conjure a Simeone or Klopp and ensure the coach is successful and loyal? Atletico's recent upturn is down to sheer luck that former players returned and turned out to be highly competent coaches. Fans as informed as Slash or BVBFNM ought to be able to look beyond on-pitch results which can be purely a product of good coaching, and have a separate view on a club's ownership structure and management decisions. The management of Gil and Cerezo is known to be an epic shitshow, these crooks have stolen millions from Atletico and are still in charge after receiving a pardon.

"Atlético Madrid must be the only place where the owners have been convicted of fraud – against their own club.

In 1969, Gil was pardoned by General Franco. Almost 30 years later, a statute of limitations rescued him, Gil Marín and Cerezo from prison even though they were found to have fraudulently acquired Atlético upon flotation in 1992. Atlético had been conned then; fans believe they have been conned ever since.

Gil was a big-bellied, foul-mouthed multi-millionaire who worked in a brothel, was convicted of swindling the Marbella council, punched a fellow president, abused a judge, threatened to feed his players to his pet crocodile, ditched the youth system, leaving Raúl to seek solace across the city, and admitted to consulting his horse Imperious on transfers. Which may explain the donkeys. He bought 141 players and went through 44 coaches in 17 years."​

Simply on the basis of closing the academy and letting Raul Gonzalez leave, I don't see how Atletico are better run. I recall the time they were a madhouse, it is not the first time Ive said Atletico's recent success is good fortune that they found a great coach like Klopp in Simeone.


You may envy Atletico for having Simeone (I bet neutrals who are not Atletico fans don't actually want to watch them park the bus every week and prefer to watch BVB) and still be conscious that Atletico's owners and management are not as accountable and transparent as BVB. They are a picture of stability now but just like Klopp's reign ended, Simeone will not stay forever. No one can be sure Gil and Cerezo will not fk the club up with bad decisions, former player Simeone was hired after a flurry of interims. If he was not an astounding success none of you will be praising them today.

Our board went through a similar selection process to hire Klopp who was rejected by HSV, this should inform fans that the management operates with a degree of competence. Maybe they don't hire a Simeone clone because they look for a coach who plays the kind of football that can fill 80000 seats. The number of times I see fans suggest we buy Dolberg, Piatek or any striker on a hot streak tells me BVB management knows better than the average fan.

If we lose this game, which is possible since Paco and Akanji are out, it doesn't say much about either club other than confirming Simeone's reputation as a top coach. Thank god our club is not run by a bunch of crooks.

 

I'm not sure what u have against Dolberg or Piatek ... especially given both were extensively looked at by the club. And to think management are faultless is just naive ... they got really lucky with the Alcacer signing as nobody (even them) expected him to come this good. Would u rather Wolf over the later ? If anything, Dortmund really should have brought in 2 strikers, and both would have been an upgrade over the likes of Isaac.
I also really don't understand why the constant comparisons to Atl. Madrid and Juve ... If u are that enammored by them, why not switch to supporting them instead ? I think u have to realise that management is doing the best they can, but to suggest they are faultless would b a mistake as well. Waiting until the 12th hour to bring in a striker was incompetant, and they have luckily been bailed out in many respects.
But at the end of the day, I think it's best to just enjoy the ride ... there are more important things in life than football.

 

Starting lineup:
Bürki
Piszczek-Diallo-Zagadou-Hakimi
Delaney-Witsel
Pulisic-Götze-Bruun Larsen
Reus

Bench:
Hitz, Sancho, Guerreiro, Dahoud, Philipp, Weigl, Toprak

 

The only problem with the line up is Reus is starting upfront. He has been out best player and we need him to be effective.

It's a shame in the biggest game of the season so far we are arguably missing our 2nd and 3rd best players.

 

Damn, Diallo picks up a yellow card because of a mistake by LP.

 

good possession so far. not upset with what I have seen

 

Delaney out with an injury, Dahoud in.. Could be bringing Dahoud on a bit earlier than he wanted to do so.

 

Witsel scores. Lucky deflection but not really undeserved.

 

Goal Axel Witsel... nice

 

if we win today it is all but guaranteed we go through right? I mean it would be damn near impossible to not go through after winning the first three.

 

Zagadou almost with the second after a corner. Nothing the goalie could have done there.

 

LP already had a tough day. Now he gets a boot into the face close to the eyes. That's what it takes to get them a yellow today.

 

1:0 at halftime. Not the most excisting end to end stuff but this is closer to the way you need to play a team like Atletico. They look pretty pedestrian going forward but have the difference maker up there. Also, they have been pretty decent so far to close down our wings. Tough game for our wingers.

Also, I want to stress that Reus is a great captain. His importance for the defensive structure is known but his contribution in winning back balls is still nice to see. Götze won some balls back as well but he's rather a "calm" 10. He excels as the connector in tight spaces, not the one bringing the ball forward fast by himself.

 

Very impressive performance from some guys. Gotze, Reus, Zagadou, Akanji, Hakimi and my MOTM Witsel.

Hopefully we can keep this up. This is really impressive.

Larsen and Pulisic doing the best they can and working hard defensively, but the quality of the game too much at the moment.

LP is a legend. He is so far past the great player he was and is making some mistakes and giving the ball away a lot but doing so much better than can be hoped. What a guy.

 

Lemar escapes red for almost blinding Piszczek. Guerreiro at LB may be defensively suspect but an injured Pisz will be just as shaky.

@TimBenneth You missed the point I'm afraid. It's childish to point at Atletico's success and cry that Aki needs to learn management from thieves like Gil and Cerezo.

 

We are finally in the game after 20 minutes of the second half. So far we've only played for survival.

 

never would have thought we would be up 2-0 at this point

 

2:0 Guerreiro. Probably the first time in the second half that something Dahoud tried did succeed.

 

A few more games of this and my terror on defensive corners might fade...

 

The commentators aren't giving the BVB defenders enough credit for taking the angle so well that Burki has a definite angle to defend. One bit of worry about the far post and he doesn't get the fingers on the near post shot.

 

3:0 Sancho. Nice counterattack.
Third assist by Hakimi.

 

It was offside. But only 6 inches.