Dominant Dortmund frustrated by Barcelona

Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Barcelona

The Bundesliga club began on the front foot, with Jadon Sancho providing the attacking impetus as BVB looked to break down the Spanish champions. Starting on the left, the young England international ran at the Barcelona defence whenever the opportunity arose. However, it was Mats Hummels who Dortmund had to thank for two important interventions at the back, first to block an effort from Antoine Griezmann and then getting his head to a cross to deny Luis Suarez a free shot. The best chance of the half, though, fell to Borussia captain Reus as he was played into the box by Thorgan Hazard, but former Borussia Mönchengladbach goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen stuck out a leg to deny his former club teammate.

Dortmund began the second half again on the attack and won a penalty when Sancho was chopped down by Nelson Semedo inside the box. Reus stepped up to take but was again denied by his Germany international colleague. Despite the introduction of Lionel Messi on the hour mark, Borussia continued to control proceedings and came close again when Paco Alcacer ghosted between two defenders to meet a low Hazard cross at the near post, but he was unable to turn the ball tellingly towards goal. Substitute Julian Brandt then rattled the Barcelona crossbar with a dipping effort from 25 yards before Reus was again denied from close range, but Borussia simply could not find a way through despite their dominance and end Matchday 1 level with Barcelona, Inter Milan and Slavia Prague on one point.

• Dortmund have now managed four consecutive clean sheets in Champions League group games at home.
• Hummels played his first Champions League game for Dortmund in 1644 days.
• Ter Stegen made 108 Bundesliga appearances for Gladbach, including 38 alongside Reus.
• Dortmund had 14 attempts on goal to just seven for Barcelona.
• Reus had missed just two of his previous 16 career penalties.

Line-ups

Dortmund: Bürki – Hakimi, Akanji, Hummels, Guerreiro – Witsel, Delaney – Sancho, Reus (c), Hazard (Brandt 73’) – Alcacer (Bruun Larsen 87’)
Unused subs: Hupe, Zagadou, Dahoud, Götze, Weigl
Out: Hitz (stomach muscle), Oelschlägel (groin), Piszczek (muscular), Schulz (ankle)
Coach: Lucien Favre

Barcelona: Ter Stegen – Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Alba (Roberto 40’) – Arthur, Busquets (c) (Rakitic 59’), De Jong – Fati (Messi 59’), Suarez, Griezmann
Unused subs: Neto, Todibo, Vidal, Perez
Out: Dembele (hamstring), Umtiti (foot)
Coach: Ernesto Valverde

As it happened

FULL-TIME! DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

Barca hang on to claim a point at the Signal Iduna Park and all four teams in Group F end the first round of games with a point.

90' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

Into three additional minutes.

87' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

The Signal Iduna Park rises to its collective feet as Paco Alcacer is replaced for the final few minutes by Jacob Bruun Larsen.

78' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

Ter Stegen with a huge exhale as he denies Reus once again as he comes running onto Brandt's pass into the six-yard box. The BVB faithful can sense a goal.

OFF THE BAR! 77' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

There's only one team looking likely here and it's Borussia Dortmund. This time through substitute Brandt as he crashes an effort off the Barca crossbar from 25 yards!

CHANCE! 75' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

So close to a carbon copy of their goal against Leverkusen at the weekend! Sancho cuts the ball back from the right and Alcacer knows Reus is coming in behind him so dummies the shot, but this time the Dortmund captain can't find the target!

73' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

Warm applause for Thorgan Hazard as he's replaced by Julian Brandt.

CHANCE! 71' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

Hazard fizzes a low cross in from the right and Alcacer slips in between two defenders at the near post, but he can't quite get his angles right and fails to turn the ball towards goal.

69' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

Dortmund have the ball in the Barca net but it won't count after Delaney is penalised for his challenge on ter Stegen.

67' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

This time Reus goes up looking for a header but is just beaten to the ball by the much taller Pique.

64' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

Reus looks a man on a mission now as he picks up the ball just outside the area, shifts it onto his left foot looking for goal but has his effort blocked for a corner, which is cleared.

59' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

Ernesto Valverde makes his final two substitutions. Former Schalke midfielder Ivan Rakitic replaces Sergio Busquets hands over the captain's armband to Lionel Messi, who comes on for Ansu Fati.

SAVED! 57' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

Reus just cannot catch a break against ter Stegen, who guesses right down to his left and saves the BVB captain's spot-kick.

PENALTY! 55' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

Sancho leaves Semedo in a twist, spinning away from the Barca full-back who is too slow to react and takes down the England international inside the box. The referee points to the spot!

54' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

Raphael Guerreiro lofts a free-kick into the Barcelona box and finds Delaney completely unmarked, but the Dane somehow fluffs his header wide! The linesman's flag was raised in any case.

51' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

Alcacer is the man who steps up to take. He averages a goal every 83 minutes since joining Dortmund from Barca, so the stats say he'll score tonight, but it won't be here as he smashes the free-kick into the wall.

50' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

Pique lunges in on Hakimi on the edge of the box. The defender is shown a yellow card and Dortmund have a free-kick right on the edge of the D.

SAVE! 48' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

Excellent goalkeeping from Roman Bürki as Suarez jinks his way past Akanji and looks to fires the ball between the 'keeper and the post from a narrow angle, but the Swiss stopper makes himself big and sticks out a strong right hand to deny the Uruguayan, who runs off with his head in his hands.

47' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

Thorgan Hazard is booked for hauling back Roberto.

KICK-OFF! DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

Both sides return unchanged as we restart for the second 45 minutes.

HALF-TIME! DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

An excellent half of football between two evenly matched teams.

40' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

Alba isn't able to continue and is replaced by Sergi Roberto. He goes over to the right and Semedo takes Alba's place at left-back. The last time Semedo deputised on the left, Barca lost 2-0 to Sevilla in the Copa del Rey.

CHANCE! 39' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

Reus does well to hold up the ball on the edge of the box and sees Sancho approaching through the centre. He lays it off and the England international opens up his body looking to curl the ball around a defender, but gets too much on it.

36' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

A slight moment of panic at the back for Dortmund as Manuel Akanji's header from a free-kick goes straight up in the air. Roman Bürki rushes off his line to punch clear but also takes out Alcacer at the same time as Arthur's rebound is deflected over the bar.

34' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

Play has stopped in Dortmund as Alba goes down feeling his leg. He's eventually ushered off the pitch - not without trying to take a throw-in first - before hobbling back on with the referee's approval.

30' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

Sancho switches the play out right to Hakimi, who has pushed his way into the final third and runs at Jordi Alba. He steps inside the Barca left-back but then scuffs his effort wide from inside the box.

CHANCE! 28' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

Sancho is brought down rather unceremoniously by Semedo wide on the left - not deemed a card by the way - and Reus stands over the free-kick, which Hummels gets a solid head to coming across the near post, but the centre-back can't direct it on goal.

CHANCE! 24' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

A golden opportunity for the BVB captain as he runs onto Hazard's perfectly weighted pass into the penalty area, but his former Borussia Mönchengladbach teammate Marc-Andre ter Stegen makes himself big to deny Reus the opening goal.

20' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

An excellent break from Dortmund after a Barcelona corner, with Hakimi leading the charge down the left. He plays in Alcacer, who looks to exchange passes with Hazard in the box but the Belgian's backheel is intercepted before it can reach the former Barca striker.

17' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

Yet more excellent defending from Hummels, this time to get his head onto a Griezmann cross from the left and deny Luis Suarez a free header.

15' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

Thomas Delaney is doing the enforcing role for Dortmund tonight and he goes in a little too hard on Barca captain Sergio Busquets, picking up the first yellow card of the evening in the progress.

13' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

The first real chances of the game fall to the visitors as Antoine Griezmann exchanges passes on the edge of the box before Mats Hummels slides in for a perfectly timed block. From the corner, Gerard Pique gets a glancing header to it at the front post but the ball bounces harmlessly wide.

8' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

Sancho has started this game on the left wing and is the main outlet going forward. He tries to pick out Thorgan Hazard coming in off the right flank and into the box, but the Belgian is just pipped to the ball.

5' DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

Jadon Sancho, as ever, is at the centre of Dortmund's attacking play, picking his moment to turn on the afterburners and race through a gap. The England international gets into the box but finds his way blocked by Nelson Semedo as he tries to turn onto his right foot.

KICK-OFF! DORTMUND 0-0 BARCELONA

BVB get their European campaign underway!

TEAMS IN THE TUNNEL

Dortmund and Barcelona are side by side in the black and yellow tunnel at the Signal Iduna Park. Kick-off in front of a sold-out crowd is moment away...

ELSEWHERE IN GROUP F...

Inter have been held to a somewhat surprising 1-1 draw at home to Prague in one of the night's early kick-offs. It means a win here for Dortmund will put them top of the standings and lay down a marker early on.

DORTMUND'S PATH TO ISTANBUL

Last season's Bundesliga runners-up have been handed a challenging group to kick off their Champions League campaign. They begin tonight at home to Barcelona before a visit to Slavia Prague. They then face Inter Milan back-to-back ahead of a trip to the Camp Nou before Prague come to the Signal Iduna Park.

BVB would then face two-legged ties in the round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final ahead of a potential final at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul on 30 May.

MESSI ONLY FIT ENOUGH FOR THE BENCH

Visitors Barcelona also make just the one change after their 5-2 win over Valencia with striker Luis Suarez replacing youngster Carles Perez in attack. Lionel Messi is yet to play this season because of various injury setbacks, but the Argentine is on the bench and we can surely expect to see him at some point tonight.

ONE CHANGE FOR DORTMUND

Dortmund bring in just one new face compared to Saturday's big win over Leverkusen: Thorgan Hazard is in on the left wing in place of Julian Brandt. Lukasz Piszczek hasn't recovered in time from a muscular issue, so Real Madrid loanee Achraf Hakimi continues at right-back.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

The teams have only met twice previously, in the two-legged UEFA Super Cup final in 1997.

Barcelona won the first leg 2-0 on home turf on 8 January 1998, while the return fixture at the Signal Iduna Park ended 1-1 on 11 March. Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc featured in both games.

GOOD OMEN?

BVB's U19 side have just beaten their Barcelona counterparts 2-1 in the UEFA Youth League, with 16-year-old American midfielder Gio Reyna on target in the 60th minute for Dortmund.

DORTMUND WARM-UP IN STYLE

Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho, Marco Reus and Paco Alcacer teamed up to great effect once again as the trio brilliantly engineered a 4-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday that ended Die Werkself's unbeaten start to the season. Read the full match report here!

BEWARE THE PACO-MAN!

Paco Alcacer has begun the 2019/20 season in unparalleled form for club and country. The Borussia Dortmund and Spain striker has scored 10 goals in just eight appearances across four different competitions for club and country, with only the UEFA Champions League yet to begin. Next in his sights are former club Barcelona...find out why the La Liga giants might regret letting him go here!

BARCA'S KLOPP NIGHTMARE

While Dortmund's home sweet home is a major asset for them, being 'on the road' is anything but a pleasant trip for Barca.

Ernesto Valverde's men have won just four of their last 13 away games in European competition, and will still be reeling from their last outing on foreign soil: that incredible 4-0 semi-final second leg loss at Anfield, a win masterminded by former Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp.

FAVRE ON THE 12TH MAN

The Signal Iduna Park will be packed again tonight, and the BVB boss acknowledged the fans are a major boost to his side: "Up to now, they have always been there for us, they have done a lot for the team. They're very important and a crowd like that always helps a team."

SANCHO: BETTER THAN MESSI & HAZARD

Lionel Messi and Eden Hazard may be two of the best players on the planet, but when it comes to laying assists on for teammates, nobody across Europe’s five major leagues outdoes Borussia Dortmund star Jadon Sancho. See how he's been doing that here!

ALCACER ON WHY HE LEFT BARCELONA

The Dortmund striker has flourished since moving to Germany in summer 2018, and BVB have reaped the benefits of a miserable spell for him at the Camp Nou. "I left Barcelona to be happy again and to play," said the 26-year-old, who scored just 15 times in 50 competitive appearances over two seasons in Catalonia. By contrast, he's found the net 26 times in 38 games for BVB in just over a season in Germany.

FAVRE ON MESSI

"They're probably going to play without Messi," said the Dortmund boss before knowing that the Argentine was in the Barca squad. "But without him, their game isn't so different. They still play in 4-3-3...They're still good, with or without Messi."

FAVRE: 'CRUYFF INSPIRED ME'

The Dortmund boss spent two weeks with the legendary Dutchman in 1991 when Cruyff had another Barcelona dream team at his disposal with the likes of Romario, Stoichkov and Ronald Koeman, who would win the European Cup the following year.

"I had a sort of premonition that we'd play against them when the draw was made," said Favre. "Of course, I was inspired by my stay with them."

WITSEL BULLISH

"We have a strong team, so our aim must be the quarter-finals," says the Belgium international. "We have the quality to do that." He even says going even further is not out of the question: "It would certainly be a little surprise...but who knows, Ajax did it last season, forcing their way in among the big guns. Why shouldn't Borussia Dortmund also do it?"

WELCOME!

We've got all the build-up to kick-off and beyond right here - the serious business at the Signal Iduna Park starts at 9.00pm CEST/8.00pm BST/3.00pm ET!