Champions League: Borussia Dortmund beats Neymar, PSG as Erling Haaland scores two more goals
Erling Haaland picked up right where he left off in the Champions League.
The 19-year-old Borussia Dortmund striker — acquired in January after scoring eight times in six group stage games for Red Bull Salzburg — bagged another two goals on Tuesday to give BVB a 2-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their round of 16 clash in Germany.
Brazilian superstar Neymar scored PSG’s lone goal off a pass from Kylian Mbappe two minutes before Haaland’s winner. The second leg will be played in the French capital on March 11.
Dortmund-PSG livens up after a scoreless first half
After an unexpectedly listless (and scoreless) opening 45 minutes from two of the global game’s most attack-minded teams, the match exploded midway though the second half.
Dortmund had come out of the tunnel full of energy following the break, and any defensive caginess from the visitors went out the window after Haaland got the hosts on the scoreboard in the 69th minute:
Håland. Goal. Who else? 🔥
Dortmund 1-0 PSG ➡️ https://t.co/gUmi0J8oJ7 pic.twitter.com/7WKuMyhFiN— Bleacher Report Live (@brlive) February 18, 2020
Neymar gets PSG a potentially vital away goal
Haaland’s strike changed the complexion of the match. Suddenly forced to chase the game, PSG surged forward with its all-world front three of Neymar, Mbappe and Angel Di Maria.
It took the Parisians just six minutes to overwhelm the hosts’ suspect back line, with Neymar able to turn in his goal into the roof of Roman Burki’s net from close range:
It was only a matter of time until Mbappé and Neymar connected 🌟
➡️ https://t.co/gUmi0J8oJ7 pic.twitter.com/ngeTe1wYaM— Bleacher Report Live (@brlive) February 18, 2020
It might not have been enough to salvage a draw in the end, but Neymar’s goal still matters. Because of the away goals rule, it means that a 1-0 triumph in the return leg at Parc des Princes would be enough to beat manager Thomas Tuchel’s former team and send PSG to the quarterfinals.
Haaland gets the last laugh
A win is a win, though, and Dortmund will certainly take it. Even after Neymar temporarily silenced the 80,000-plus in attendance at the Westfalenstadion, there was a sense that teenage sensation Haaland wasn’t done scoring himself.
Sure enough, the youngster put the home side up for good with a rocket of a shot from distance just moments after the restart — a goal that was assisted by 17-year-old Giovanni Reyna, who became the youngest American ever to play in Europe’s top club competition when he entered off the bench in the second half:
HÅLAND LET IT FLY
➡️ https://t.co/gUmi0J8oJ7 pic.twitter.com/Ec8rN3zemQ— Bleacher Report Live (@brlive) February 18, 2020
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