Bundesliga
A match for the ages
Eight goals were scored in the second half as Borussia Dortmund were held at the last in their 4-4 draw with Juventus, a match that will go down as a UEFA Champions League classic. Here is what the Dortmund camp had to say...
Dortmund appeared to have their opening three points of the Champions League season in the bag as they led 4-2 going into injury time at the Allianz Stadium. An impressive second-half performance from BVB, which saw goals from Karim Adeyemi, Felix Nmecha, Yan Couto and Ramy Bensebaini, had put Niko Kovač's men in the driving seat.
However, Juventus were in no mood to leave empty-handed, scoring in the fourth and sixth minute of extra-time to snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat. That left Dortmund in an unexpected position - they found the back of the net on four separate occasions, yet were still unable to return to Germany with the win.
Kovač perhaps best summarised the mood of the Dortmund squad after the game, stuck between pride and disappointment. "It was very nerve-wracking," he said. "I have to compliment my team. Playing here in front of such passionate spectators and then controlling the first half like that. What wasn't good today was the final minutes. That's what hurts. You can't make any mistakes at this level."
Adeyemi gave his side the lead not long after the restart before his opener was cancelled out by Kenan Yıldız - interestingly, the two players went to school together in Unterhaching and have known each other for years. He, too, underlined Dortmund's frustration at their inability to close out the game.
"We have to win this game 100 percent. In the end, we're disappointed. We just had to bring it home. Then we'll all be happy. We implemented a lot of what we set out to do," he said.
Meanwhile, Nmecha was eager to take the positives out of the game ahead of fixtures against Europe's biggest names further down the line. "It's really frustrating. We worked so hard and then to concede two goals like that at the end is really bitter. We have to keep going and hopefully do better in the next game.
"Karim played me a good pass for the goal, and I love the position. Then it was a nice goal. But that feeling at the end is annoying. I think we showed that we can compete with the top teams."
Dortmund host Athletic Bilbao next, before travelling to Copenhagen. There is no doubt this feels like an opportunity missed, but the match has still given them something to build on for the rest of the league phase.