UEFA Champions League
Dortmund Ease Past Monaco To Remain Unbeaten
Three second half goals helped Borussia Dortmund make it two wins from two in the Champions League.
Goals from Jacob Bruun Larsen, Paco Alcacer and Marco Reus were enough to see off Monaco and helped Dortmund maintain their unbeaten start to the season.
Meanwhile, Monaco still haven’t won in the Champions League since defeating Dortmund in the quarter-finals in 2017.
The Ligue 1 side started the brighter. A great effort from midfielder Youri Tielemans from 25 yards out forced an acrobatic save by Dortmund keeper Roman Burki.
Dortmund were struggling to create any clear cut chances. Their best chance of the first half fell to Paco Alcacer. Thomas Delaney picked out Alcacer inside the box but his curling shot went just wide.
The first half was an even contest but Dortmund dominated the second and took the lead after 51 minutes.
Midfielder Jadon Sancho picked up the ball and played a beautiful through ball, which cut open the Monaco defence.
The ball fell to substitute Jacob Brunn Larsen who slotted the ball past substitute goalkeeper Danijel Subasic.
Dortmund had a great chance to double their lead from the penalty spot midway through the second half.
A brilliant dancing run by Marco Reus bamboozled the Monaco defence. Kamil Glik stuck out a leg and brought down the German international inside the box.
Up stepped Alcacer who hammered the ball down the middle of the goal. Unfortunately for him it cannoned off the crossbar and bounced out.
The Bundesliga leaders did double their lead shortly afterwards. Marco Reus played in Alcacer in on goal. He rounded the Monaco goalkeeper and this time kept his shot down and into the back of the net.
Dortmund put extra gloss on the victory in injury time. A great cross by Bruun Larsen picked out Reus who stroked the ball past Subasic in the Monaco goal.
The result was harsh on Monaco but Dortmund showed their extra quality in the second half.
Sancho Deserves England Call Up
Jadon Sancho has been in magnificent form for Dortmund this season.
He currently has the most assists in Europe’s big five leagues with five assists. This is even more remarkable considering he has only been on the pitch for 120 minutes in the Bundesliga.
The game against Monaco was only his second start for the Bundesliga league leaders.
However, he is turning into a key player for Dortmund even though he is only 18 years old.
He has intelligence, awareness and great poise for a player so young. His pass to set up Dortmund’s first goal was a thing of beauty.
A beautifully weighted through ball took three Monaco defenders out of the game and set up Bruun Larsen to score.
Considering he is ahead of the likes of Lionel Messi and David Silva in the assist charts so far this season is testament to his ability.
Sancho is in line to be called up to England’s U21 squad next week but there is an argument that he should be called up to their senior squad instead.
He is the type of player England were sorely lacking at the World Cup. Somebody who can pick a pass and get the likes of Harry Kane in behind opposition defences.
Yes he is just 18 years old but he is playing at the highest level possible in the Champions League.
Also, he is playing for one of Europe’s biggest clubs. An England call up should be around the corner.
Tough Job For Jardim
In many ways you have to feel sorry for Monaco boss Leonardo Jardim. Just when he had some success by winning the Ligue 1 title and reaching the Champions League semi-finals in 2017, his squad gets ripped apart.
Incredibly only three Monaco players remain since the last time these two sides met just last year.
In the summer Monaco brought in 14 players, while 11 left the club. There is only so many times you can rebuild the squad and expect to have the same level of success.
So far this season Monaco are a side struggling to know what their best 11 is. Just one win in Ligue 1 and languishing down in 18th place isn’t a cause for panic just yet.
Given the turnaround in players Monaco was always going to struggle while Jardim tried to gel them together.
The French side have saved their best performances for the Champions League and played well in the first half against Dortmund.
But they failed to create anything in the second and their defensive frailties were left exposed once again.
Jardim’s job at Monaco gets tougher each year and you wonder whether he should have left last season when his stock was at it’s highest.
Next up for Monaco is a home game against Rennes on Sunday. Dortmund will look to maintain their unbeaten start against Augsburg at home on Saturday.
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