Second-string Dortmund forced to settle for draw in Copenhagen
Edin Terzic rotated his squad ahead of a packed Bundesliga schedule as Borussia Dortmund drew 1-1 with FC Copenhagen in their last Champions League group stage game at Parken tonight.
| Thorgan Hazard. | Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Going into the game, Borussia Dortmund were already certain to finish second and make the last 16. Knowing that, BVB coach Edin Terzic chose to rest some of his regulars and made four changes from the Saturday win over Eintracht Frankfurt, as Felix Passlack, Emre Can, Giovanni Reyna and Anthony Modeste replaced Niklas Süle, Jude Bellingham, Julian Brandt and Youssoufa Moukoko in the starting line-up.
Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund were still without Marco Reus and Raphael Guerreiro, with the duo targeting a return from injury against Hertha this weekend.
Copenhagen knew they would remain rooted to the bottom of the group regardless of the result tonight, but they started brightly and created a number of opportunities from the beginning of the game. 16-year-old Roony Bardghji came particularly close to giving the home side an early lead, but his header was kept out by a stinging save from Gregor Kobel.
But somewhat against the run of play, Borussia Dortmund broke the deadlock with 23 minutes played, taking advantage of their first real opportunity of the evening. Thorgan Hazard controlled Felix Passlack's cross and took a shot at goal that hit two Copenhagen defenders before going in.
The home side kept threatening at the other end and were rewarded for their efforts towards the end of the first half as Hakan Arnor Haraldsson received a cutback from Viktor Claesson and beat Gregor Kobel with a right-footed shot from close range to score his side's first goal of the Champions League campaign.
Terzic made two changes at the break, taking Kobel and Mats Hummels off for Alexander Meyer and Niklas Süle, and saw his side begin the second half on the front foot.
Donyell Malen missed a glorious chance to send BVB ahead with 52 minutes played, steering his shot well wide of the target from a promising position after a cutback from Karim Adeyemi, who cut in from the right.
Julian Brandt and Youssoufa Moukoko came on just past the hour mark, and the two made an impact straight away. Shortly after entering the pitch, Brandt laid off the ball to Moukoko, whose shot hit the post.
Copenhagen slowly took over the initiative again, creating a few good opportunities towards the end of the game, but it wasn't to be for the home side either as the game finished in a draw.