Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Barcelona: 3 talking points as Barcelona plays a draw against Napoli in the first incident round of the Champions League.
Barcelona played Borussia Dortmund and both were set to vie in the first round of the Champions League group stage in order to fetch three points in this round.
However both the sides failed in achieving three points from the first-matchday of the Champions League played at the Signal Iduna park. However, the game was exciting, even though it remained goal-less
Barcelona started their game without Lionel Messi, and the 16-year-old teenager- Ansu Fati was once again given the chance to fill the void left by the Argentina International
However, Messi stepped onto the pitch after the 60th minute of the game, and he surely had great moments in the match but overall Messi still needs to find the flow in next few matches in order to be at his highest level.
On the other hand, the midfield presence by Borussia Dortmund was incredible but Jadon Sancho and Marco Reus, failed to connect with the pair of Axel Witsel and Thomas Delaney.
Whereas, Jordi Alba received a knock against Borussia Dortmund’s this week, meaning either Junior Firpo or Nelson Semedo will start a lot in the absence of the Spanish defender.
Thus, amidst all of this, the Sportsrush discusses 3 talking points in the Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Barcelona, as both the sides go home with a point each in the group stage match.
Also read: Chelsea 0-1 Valencia: 3 talking points as Ross Barkley penalty miss results in Blues defeat
#1 Arthur’s dominance in midfield
Arthur has been an impressive buy by Barcelona last summer, and since then the Brazilian International has shown his brilliance, whenever given a chance.
Thus, once again Arthur was phenomenal in midfield as the young midfielder had the successful pass rate of 98%, and has been instrumental in midfield fluidity by Barcelona so far.
It would not be wrong to say that Arthur was probably the best player on the pitch. Moreover, he is connecting with Frenkie De Jong really well, which is a good sign for the Catalan club, which was absent last season.
Therefore, Arthur controlled the midfield and helped in making chances but poor decisions by the front three made Barcelona miss their chances, especially in the first half of the game.
#2 VAR at fault once again
Ever since video assistant referee has been introduced in the game, it has always been around controversies. This time it once again comes under question, after Borussia Dortmund were denied penalty retake.
Barcelona conceded a penalty after Nelson Semedo fouled Jadon Sancho inside the penalty area. Therefore, Marco Reus stepped up to take the penalty against Marc Andre Ter Stegen.
The German midfielder shot the ball, which was spectacularly stopped by Ter Stegen, and even the follow-through was thwarted by the German goalkeeper.
However, in a replay it was shown that Ter Stegen made an error, as according to the new rules, a goalkeeper cannot step outside the goal-line before the penalty taker kicks the ball, but Stegen was clearly spotted stepping out of the line. Hence, it should have been re-taken.
The main referee missed this violation by Stegen but this was under the jurisdiction of VAR, and it should have stopped the play. But, it did not make an action, hence questioning the efficiency of VAR, which eventually helped Barcelona.
#3 Borussia Dortmund’s poor luck and finishing
Borussia Dortmund surely had more chances and shots attempted in comparison to Barcelona, plus a penalty. However, the German club had its own fair share of poor luck and finishing.
Whenever the club was about to score against Barcelona, something strange always crossed the paths of the host team. Either it was tough luck or the team made a poor decision inside the box.
Plus, with VAR not giving a penalty re-take to BVB further took away genuine goal-scoring chances from Borussia Dortmund. Although, some credits should also be gone to Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, who made a fantastic performance tonight.
Even a spectacular attempt by Julian Brandt was denied by the goal-post, as it struck it with the lightning speed. Thus, this shows how the host remained unlucky with the number of chances they had against the Catalan giants but the match remained 0-0.
