re: Match Day 3-18

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Anyone watch the first game between Dortmund and Juventus? From the stats, it looked like Dortmund were unlucky to not get a draw or even win the game, in Turin.

I'm a Juventus fan, but i really like Dortmund here.

Were dortmund as good as the game stats say in the first leg?

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I haven't see the stats but they must have been misleading.

The match in Torino played about exactly the same as the second leg in Dortmund except Dortmund scored off a long anywhere-will-do clearance when Chiellini fell down.

Otherwise, both matches were pretty much the same:

1) Juve didn't want to possess the ball at all. They wanted Dortmund to build up, bring everyone up into the attack and counter against Dortmund's disfunctional press. Juve always left Tevez and Morata very high up the pitch and Pereyra at the top of the diamond ready to support on counters.

2) Dortmund possessed the ball for long stretches where they passed back and forth around Juve's diamond midfield and then either lost it trying to play right through the crowded diamond center or maybe took a hopeful long shot every once in a while that was easily re-directed by a Juve defender or caught by the GK to start a counter.

3) Dortmund's pressure was an absolute, disorganized mess, more like desperation tactics in the final couple minutes of a match. Tevez and Morata got by Hummels and Subotic far too easily, far too often and only desperation tackles and numerous to the inch offside calls saved Dortmund from conceding a few more goals.

4) It's no surprise how mediocre Dortmund's season has been because their press looks nothing remotely similar to what it used to be. Also, for all the acclaim Reus, Mkhitaryan et al receive they were rather pedestrian at best when having to build up attack instead of getting the ball in tons of space with the defense out of position due to interceptions from the pressure.