Player ratings as solo Adeyemi strike decides first leg

Borussia Dortmund opened up a 1-0 aggregate lead over Chelsea in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie at Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday night.

Karim Adeyemi’s breakaway goal in the second half decided the game, which saw Chelsea ultimately squander a number of chances, and leaves the Blues with work to do in the second leg.

Dortmund did most of the early attacking, with Chelsea defenders needing to be alert to close down a number of shots in dangerous position. Yet it was the visiting Blues who had the ball in the net first from a wide free-kick, only to see it ruled out and a yellow card brandished after the officials spotted Thiago Silva flick it goalward with an outstretched hand.

In front of a raucous home crowd, Dortmund began to threaten more consistently midway through the first half as the front three of Adeyemi, Julian Brandt and Sebastien Haller began to work together well. Haller sent a big warning to Chelsea when he fired into the side netting.

Chelsea had a glorious chance of their own not long after when Joao Felix blazed over from a good position – Emre Can throwing himself in front of it probably did enough to put the Portuguese off. A similar opportunity for Adeyemi also failed to hit the target at the other end.

Before the interval, Felix was guilty of missing another great chance, taking on Marius Wolf and lifting the ball over Gregor Kobel, only to see the ball come back off the bar.

Dortmund goalkeeper Kobel had his first save of the night to make 10 minutes into the second half, pushing a Reece James free-kick to safety with probably a more spectacular parry than it needed. James again tested Kobel’s reflexes in open play not long after. Kepa also did well at the other end to hold onto a low shot from Brandt in between those Chelsea chances.

Kobel’s pair of saves proved even more vital when Adeyemi then gave Dortmund the lead. Seconds after a Chelsea corner, Pace was king as the young forward scampered passed Enzo Fernandez, who looked like he had no idea how to stop his opponent, rounded Kepa and slid the ball home.

A combination of Kobel and Emre Can denied Chelsea an equaliser as the game neared the final stages. The ball fell to Kalidou Koulibaly of all people in the penalty area – he went for power, but Kobel did just enough to take the sting off it, with Can hooking away as it dribbled towards the line.

Tempers threatened to boil over near the end with some pushing and shoving in front of the benches, while…