Despite some early theatrics from Hulk, Borussia Dortmund is in to its second consecutive UEFA Champions League quarterfinal. Though the Zenit attacker’s early, long distance goal combined with Salomón Rondon’s late winner to give the Russians a second leg victory, Sebastian Kehl’s late first half goal ensured the hosts overall lead was never in doubt. Combined with their victory three weeks ago in St. Petersburg, last year’s Bundesliga runners-up move into Europe’s final eight with a 5-4 (agg.) victory.
With a bending strike from 30 yards out, Hulk opened the scoring in the 16th minute, reducing the hosts’ overall lead to one goal. Kehl answered seven minutes before halftime with a header from six yards out, a goal that was offset in the 73rd when substitute Salomón Rondón headed home a bouncing cross from close range.
Despited an energized pursuit, Zenit were unable to find another goal, leaving it two short of the club’s first visit to Champions League’s quarterfinals. Dortmund, on the other hand, make their sixth appearance in the final eight, though thanks to a first half yellow card, the team will be without one of their most important pieces for the first game of its quarterfinal.
A first quarter-hour’s impression of a fluid if dispirited game was awaken with a crack when Hulk supplied one of the goals of the tournament. Receiving the ball high on the right flank, the Brazilian international cut an arc today the middle of the field, a run that left him around 30 yards from goal. There the Zenit attacker released a bending shot that curved into the thin column Roman Weidenfeller left between himself and his right post. From a seemingly safe distance, Hulk reminded fans of the danger he carries in his left foot, seeing the visitors to a 1-0 lead.
(MORE: WATCH: This ridiculous bender from Hulk opened today’s scoring in Dortmund)
Shortly after falling behind, BVB saw Robert Lewandowski, who had a four-goal game in last year’s semifinals, draw a yellow card after a confrontation in the Zenit penalty area. Combined with the caution the Bayern-bound striker carried over from group stage, Lewandowski will now miss the first game of BVB’s quarterfinal.
In the 38th minute, Borussia Dortmund restored their two-goal (agg.) edge. Moving swiftly into an attack down Zenit’s right, BVB saw left back Marcel Schmelzer loft a cross toward the middle of Vyacheslav Malafeev’s area. The floating ball allowed midfielder Sebastian Kehl to run into the pass at the edge of the six-yard box, jumping over a Zenit defender to head through Malafeev’s hands. With their captain’s first goal of the tournament, Dortmund restored their lead, 5-3 (agg.).
After an even first 25 minutes to the second, Zenit again closed the gap. On a cross sent in from the left by Domenico Criscito, Rondón beat Sokratis Papastathopoulos to a bouncing ball at the edge of the six, heading his shot down and to Weidenfeller’s left for the game’s third score. With 17 minutes left, down 5-4 overall, Zenit were two goals away from the quarterfinals.
But against a renewed, spirited pursuit, Borussia Dortmund dug in. While Zenit’s energy caused a few moments of drama, the Russians were never able to equalize, let alone threaten to overturn BVB’s away goals edge.
Out-shot and outlasted, Zenit was forced to settle for a moral victory, their 2-1 result carried it into a new era under André Villas-Boas, one that will begin outside of Champions League’s quarterfinals.
