DORMUND, April 13: Teeger Kylian Mbappe scored twice to give AS Moco a 3-2 win at Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday in a Champions League quarter-fil first-leg match that was postponed following an attack on the home team’s bus.
Mbappe gave Moco a 19th-minute lead shortly after Fabinho had missed a pelty for the visitors, and they went further ahead when Dortmund defender Sven Bender headed into his own net.
Ousmane Dembele pulled one back for Dortmund in the 57th minute but another defensive mistake allowed Mbappe to break away and grab a third goal for the Ligue 1 side. Shinji Kagawa gave the German side hope with a neat finish six minutes from time.
German media had questioned whether the game should have gone ahead so soon after Tuesday’s attack in which three explosions went off as the Dortmund team bus travelled to the stadium, injuring their Spanish defender Marc Bartra.
Moco, who beat Manchester City on away goals after a 6-6 aggregate draw in the last 16, should have gone ahead in the 18th minute after Mbappe won a pelty but Fabinho pulled his spot-kick wide of the post.
One minute later Berrdo Silva burst out of the Moco half and flicked a clever pass to Thomas Lemar whose low ball across the face of goal bounced off Mbappe’s knee and into the net.
Moco went further ahead in the 35th minute when Andrea Raggi sent an inswinging cross towards Radamel Falcao and, although Bender got to it first, he only succeeded in heading it past Roman Buerki and into the net.
Thomas Tuchel’s double substitution at halftime galvanised Dortmund who went out on the attack and deservedly pulled one back in the 57th minute.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang cleverly flicked Raphael Guerreiro’s cross into the path of Kagawa and the Japanese laid the ball into Ousmane Dembele’s path for the 19-year-old to tap into an open goal.
It was the first time two teegers had scored in a Champions League knockout tie.
Falcao missed an open goal for Moco before Mbappe, 18, intercepted a poor Lukasz Piszczek pass, ran on and calmly fired his shot past Buerki.
The drama continued as Kagawa grabbed another goal for Dortmund and Aubameyang headed over the bar in stoppage time from six metres. (IANS)