Borussia Dortmund vs FC Shakhtar Donetsk (agg: 5-2)

Borussia Dortmund vs FC Shakhtar Donetsk (agg: 5-2)

First-half Felipe Santana and Mario Götze goals were followed up by Jakub Błaszczykowski as Dortmund got to the last eight for the first time since 1998.

 

Tied at 2-2 from the first leg, the reigning Bundesliga champions soon took control, Felipe Santana's bullet header giving them a lead that was swiftly doubled by Mario Götze's sweeping finish. Jakub Błaszczykowski rounded off a comprehensive victory in the second half with a third goal for Jürgen Klopp's adventurous side, who have no reason to fear anyone in the draw for the last eight.


Shakhtar needed to score yet were offered slim pickings by a sprightlier home team, who dominated possession early on. A huge roar went up as Marco Reus launched the game's first notable attack, searing down the right before overhitting his cross beyond the lurking Robert Lewandowski. The latter would get a sight of goal soon enough as Götze's threaded pass played him into the box, but visiting keeper Andriy Pyatov and Olexandr Kucher combined to deny the Pole.

The way Dortmund were knitting their passes together in midfield was impressive and there was no denying they deserved the opener when it arrived just past the half-hour mark, Santana powering an unstoppable header into the top corner from Götze's corner. Six minutes later provider turned scorer as Götze steered Lewandowski's low centre into the far corner to make it two.
Save for a misdirected cross by Fernandinho which required palming away by Roman Weidenfeller, Shakhtar were at a loss going in at the interval – though the Ukrainian title holders soon reminded everyone they were still in the contest after the restart. Half-time substitute Douglas Costa injected pace on the right, first sprinting from his own half only to run out of steam in the area, before driving narrowly wide after being picked out in space by Luiz Adriano.
Fernandinho was also foiled by Weidenfeller shortly afterwards, but despite Shakhtar's spirited revival the tie was settled beyond any doubt when Pyatov spilled İlkay Gündoğan's shot at the other end a minute before the hour, allowing Błaszczykowski a simple finish for Dortmund's third. Substitute Kevin Grosskreutz might have extended the winning margin but for a fine Pyatov save and Reus fired wide after a jinking run. Those misses, however, did little to detract from another impressive performance at Europe's top table from Klopp's precocious young team.