Dortmund break Champions League record, Real and Leicester advance to last 16
Borussia Dortmund beat Legia Warsaw in a pulsating 8-4 victory on Tuesday that broke the record for goals scored in a Champions League match.The record was set in injury time when Marco Reus, who had earlier scored twice, unleashed a shot that was deflected into the net by Legia captain Jakub Rzezniczak. The 12 goals were one more than the total when Monaco beat Deportivo La Coruna 8-3 on November 5, 2003.Shinji Kagawa scored twice for Dortmund, while Aleksandar Prijovic also got two for Legia.In the two matches against the Polish side, Dortmund scored a total of 14 goals, having won the first leg 6-0. (Also read: Usain Bolt plans to train with Borussia Dortmund)The winner of Group F will be decided in the final round when Dortmund visits Real Madrid. Both teams are through to the round of 16. Dortmund has 13 points and Real Madrid 11. Sporting, which lost 2-1 to Real Madrid, has three points and Legia one.The scoring bonanza included a four-minute spell in the first half with three Dortmund goals, two of them from Kagawa.Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel made nine changes to the side that beat Bayern Munich over the weekend. Reus, the captain for the match, played his first game since a groin injury in May.”That’s how you imagine a comeback after a long time. I’m fine now, it’s great that I could play from the start,” Reus said. “But it was tough. I’ve been out for a long time.”Dortmund’s final goal came from a pass by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the club’s top scorer, who came on with 20 minutes left. He did not score, although he hit the post.advertisementAubameyang passed across the penalty area and Reus hit a low shot that struck Rzezniczak and slipped through the legs of Legia goalkeeper Radoslaw Cierzniak.”It’s fantastic for Reus, I am really pleased,” Tuchel said. “I’ve never had such a game, though, so I don’t really know how to analyze it. We scored a clear victory, but I really don’t know what to say.”Dortmund’s reshuffled defense was caught out in the 10th minute, when Vadis Odjidja crossed into the area. Prijovic controlled the ball and then curled it inside the far post with the outside of his right boot.Dortmund replied quickly. Kagawa stooped at the far post for a rare header off a cross from Ousmane Dembele in the 17th. One minute later, Kagawa and Dembele swapped passes before Kagawa drilled in with his left foot. And in the 20th, Cierzniak tried to punch out a free kick, only for the ball to hit Nuri Sahin and bounce into the net.The action never stopped and in the 24th Prijovic got his second, shooting through the legs of a defender. Prijovic nearly had a hat trick, but hit the crossbar from point-blank range.The ball soon ended up in Dortmund’s possession and Sahin fed Reus, who set up Dembele. Dembele fooled two defenders before shooting under Cierzniak in the 29th. Reus then completed the seven-goal scoring fest in the first half by tapping in a low cross from Kagawa.Reus got his second in the 52nd, again from close range from a Dembele pass, to make it 6-2.Michal Kucharczyk pulled one back for Legia, before Felix Passlack scored after a great run by Christian Pulisic, who crossed for Andre Schuerrle. His shot was blocked, but Passlack headed the rebound into the net.Nemanja Nikolic scored Legia’s fourth, before Rzezniczak’s own-goal completed the win.A small group of Legia supporters made it into the stadium although UEFA had imposed a ban after Polish fans had created disturbances in the match at Real Madrid.REAL MADRID 2 – 1 SPORTING LISBONDefending champion Real Madrid advanced from the group stage of the Champions League for the 20th straight time after beating 10-man Sporting Lisbon 2-1 on Tuesday.Karim Benzema came off the bench to get the late winner in the 87th minute.A draw would have been enough to get Madrid through to the knockout stages anyway, but victory gave the team a chance to finish first in Group F with a home victory over Borussia Dortmund in the final round.LEICESTER CITY 2 – 1 CLUB BRUGESLeicester City added another tale of remarkable success to an incredible year by reaching the last 16 of the Champions League in their debut season with a 2-1 victory over Club Bruges on Tuesday.A volley from Shinji Okazaki and a Riyad Mahrez penalty put Leicester two goals ahead in the first half and they managed to see off a revival from the visitors who pulled one back with a fine individual effort after the break from Jose Izquierdo.advertisementThe result moved the Premier League champions to 13 points from five matches and not only ensured their spot in the knockout stages, but also their status as Group G winners with one match to spare.JUVENTUS 3 – 1 SEVILLAJuventus came from behind to secure a 3-1 win at Sevilla and reach the Champions League knockout stage on Tuesday, helped by a controversial penalty and a first-half sending-off.Nicolas Pareja gave Sevilla an early lead but it fell apart for the hosts after Franco Vazquez was booked twice in a five-minute spell and Juve’s Claudio Marchisio levelled with a hotly-protested penalty in first-half stoppage time.Late goals by Leonardo Bonucci and Mario Mandzukic for the visitors then settled a petulant game that produced 31 fouls and eight yellow cards.MONACO 2 – 1 SPURSMonaco cruised into the Champions League last 16 at the expense of Tottenham Hotspur as goals by Djibril Sidibe and Thomas Lemar earned a 2-1 Group E win that would have been more emphatic but for visiting keeper Hugo Lloris.All the goals came in a breathless spell just after halftime as Sidibe headed home in the 48th minute only for Harry Kane to equalise from the penalty spot four minutes later.Lemar put Monaco back in front a minute later with an angled shot and France international Lloris, who saved a first-half spot kick from Radamel Falcao, spared the Londoners a thrashing.Monaco are assured of top spot with 11 points from five games, four more than Bayer Leverkusen who go through to the knockout round as runners-up.FC COPENHAGEN 0 – 0 FC PORTOFC Porto missed their chance to book a spot in the last 16 of the Champions League as Danish champions FC Copenhagen held them to a 0-0 draw at the Parken Stadium in their Group G clash on Tuesday.The first 45 minutes were played at an electrifying pace with plenty of aggression from both sides but despite a number of chances at both ends, neither could find a way to break the deadlock.Copenhagen keeper Robin Olsen made a scrambling double save to thwart Andre Silva midway through the second half and he was called into action on several other occasions as the Danes hung on to keep their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stage alive.(With inputs from AP and Reuters)