Borussia Dortmund beat Chelsea 1-0 in the Champions League last 16 first leg thanks to a stunning solo goal from Karim Adeyemi.
Adeyemi’s brilliantly executed goal midway through the second half dealt a further blow to Graham Potter’s Chelsea, who lost for the fourth time in 2023.
The second leg at Stamford Bridge is on Tuesday, March 7.
After a frenetic opening to the tie, which saw Nico Schlotterbeck make an eye-catching sliding tackle on Mykhailo Mudryk as the Ukrainian looked to burst free into the box, Dortmund’s Sebastien Haller had the first meaningful chance of the game when he struck the side netting shortly before the half hour mark.
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In the 37th minute, Joao Felix had Chelsea’s best chance when he crashed a shot off the crossbar. Kai Havertz laid the ball off to the Portugal international on the break, but he was off balance and under heavy pressure from Marius Wolf when he got his shot away.
Chelsea looked re-energised in the opening stages of the second half and the visitors almost broke deadlock in the 55th minute. Reece James’ swerving free-kick was parried over the bar by Gregor Kobel.
But it was Dortmund who went in front after a clinical counter-attack. From a Chelsea corner, Adeyemi picked the ball up in his own half, outpaced Enzo Fernandez and rounded Kepa Arrizabalaga before slotting the ball into the empty net.
Chelsea almost found an equaliser in the 77th minute when Kalidou Koulibaly drove a shot on goal from close range, but after it had squirmed away from Kobel, Emre Can slid in to clear off the line.
Eurosport