Adeyemi's Counterattack gives Dortmund Victory over Chelsea

A lightning counterattack by Karim Adeyemi, just when Chelsea was having their best moment, and the saves by goalkeeper Gregor Kobel gave Borussia Dortmund a 1-0 victory in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16.

After a balanced first half, Chelsea came out aggressively in the second half but was punished by Adeyemi's counterattack and repeatedly denied by Kobel, with his last save in the 95th minute against a shot from Enzo Fernández.

In the first two minutes of the match, there was already a good chance for Dortmund's area followed by a Chelsea counterattack that ended with Nico Schlotterbeck's tackle in the penalty area against Mudryk.

These initial scenes announced much of what the first half would be like.

Dortmund tried to reach Chelsea's area in a controlled manner, with Julian Brandt and Jude Bellighman pulling the strings, while Chelsea showed off their quick transitions that often involved Joao Felix and Mudryk.

Throughout the first half, Dortmund had more chances and more shots on goal, but the best opportunity came for Chelsea in the 38th minute, with a shot from Joao Felix that hit the crossbar.

Joao Felix had another chance in the 32nd minute, when he shot over the goal from a good position.

Dortmund also had some shots from good positions and several scoring situations that they could have taken better advantage of.

After a first half that had been quite balanced, Chelsea dominated the second half and had more than a quarter of an hour where they had Dortmund against the ropes.

In that phase, Chelsea had two good chances, one from a free kick by Thiago Solve in the 55th minute and another in the 62nd minute with a close-range shot from James that Gregor Kobel reacted to with a great save, sending the ball out for a corner kick.

From the corner kick, and at the moment when Chelsea was playing their best, came the counterattack that ended in Dortmund's goal.

Raphael Guerreiro cleared the ball from the area and Karim Adeyemi sprinted almost the whole field, leaving Enzo Fernández behind on his way to the area and, inside the box, getting past Kepa to score into an empty net.

After the goal, there was a phase where Chelsea's pressure subsided a bit but then returned, and Kobel appeared several times again - in the 78th minute against Coulibaly, who shot from close range, and at the last moment with an acrobatic save against Enzo Fernández.

The tie remains open with this narrow result, but Dortmund continues their winning streak this year while Chelsea struggles to get results.