Skip to main content

Dortmund defeat Olympiakos to stay alive

The Germany international stunned the visitors after seven minutes, rifling in from 22 metres for Dortmund's first Champions League win of the season which kept them in the running for a spot in the knockout stage.

The Greeks, needing at least a draw to seriously remain in contention for a top-two finish, battled hard but created few clear chances and it was Dortmund who could have scored again when Robert Lewandowski hit the post on the hour.

"There was a bit of luck in the game for us," said Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp, whose team travel to Arsenal next. "We started well but then our holding midfielders became a bit too attack-minded. But at the end of the day we deserved to win."

Dortmund had described the game as a "final" and were eager to make amends for their 3-1 defeat in Athens last month.

"It was a divided game. We had our chances and we had them until the very last minute but we did not manage to score," Olympiakos coach Ernesto Valverde told reporters. "In the end we could not get the result we wanted and the early goal did not help."