Late-Game Urgency Sees BVB Bag First Champions League Win | OneFootball

In a first half marked by Konstantinos Karetsas having to come off and subsequent concerns over the 18-year-old's wellbeing, Borussia put in the work but seemed to lack urgency and presence of mind. 24 minutes in, Karetsas suddenly raised his arm during an attacking sequence, dropped to the ground, and covered his face. He was attended to by two doctors for several minutes before being stretchered off the field. The quick diagnosis found lightheadedness as a result of cirulatory issues to be the cause of the concerning incident. The Greek international was taken to the hospital for further checks.

Entering the match with two changes from the starting lineup against Hoffenheim, BVB had two half-chances early on, Sabitzer seeing his effort blocked and Guirassy being unable to reach a cross by Maxi Beier. After that, the game slowed to a crawl, with Villarreal defending deep and utilizing a 5-4-1 formation. It wasn’t until shortly before halftime that Borussia manage to up the pressure and create chances through Ethan Nwaneri and Serhou Guirassy. While Nwaneri's shot was blocked (44'), Serhou Guirassy attempted to round Peter Gulacsi, forcing a strong intervention from the former Leipzig backstop (45'+1).

The second half began with a body check by Mourino against Felix Nmecha inside the penalty area, but the referee showed little interest. In the 51st minute, Nwaneri was first picked out by Nmecha and then denied a shot by Gueye, whose sliding challenge sent the ball bouncing off the inside of the right post and back out. Two minutes later, Beier made his way down the left and past Mourino, followed by a hard centering ball from the byline. Gulacsi deflected the ball off Veiga’s upper arm, from where it trickled across the line for 1-0.

Villarreal subsequently adjusted its tactics, made several attacking substitutions, and pushed for the equalizer. Kobel, who had only once been seriously tested in the first half, making a strong save against Buchanan (41'), now had to spring into action on several occasions. After parrying Santi’s shot around the post (65'), the Swiss international was left helpless when Mikautadze's subsequent corner kick was met by Mourino, who outjumped Ryerson and headed the ball inside the near post for the equalizer. Shortly afterward, Kobel prevented his side from falling behind 2-1, producing and excellent save against Buchanan (68').

Niko Kovac’s substitutions got the Black & Yellow back on track. After forcing Gulacsi into a save seconds after coming on (76'), Fabio Silva ran onto a through ball from Bellingham on the right flank and drove into the penalty area. The Portuguese then squared the ball to Guirassy, who poked it over the line with his outstretched leg (80'). Gulacsi prevented Silva from sealing the deal three minutes later (83'), but another two minutes after that, Guirassy converted a penalty kick for 3-1. The striker stepped up after having himself been brought down inside the box by Mourino on a corner kick. Well inside stoppage time, the visitors pulled one back when Kobel deflected a free kick off Guirassy's face for a highly unfortunate own goal.

Champions League action won’t resume for five weeks. On October 14, BVB will face Bodø/Glimt in Norway, with three Bundesliga matches to be played between now and then – this coming Saturday against Paderborn, a week later at Stuttgart, and on the second weekend of October against Bremen.

Borussia Dortmund – FC VILLARREAL 3-2 (0-0)

UEFA Champions League, Matchday 1 Tuesday, September 8, 2026, 21:00 (9 p.m.) CEST

BVB: Kobel – Gadou, Anton, Svensson – Ryerson, Veerman, Nmecha (75’ Bellingham), Beier (82’ Prates) – Karetsas (27’ Nwaneri, 82’ Chukwuemeka), Sabitzer (75’ Silva) – GuirassyBench: Meyer, Drewes; Reggiani, Inacio, AlbertUnavailable: Bensebaini (suspended), Can, Konstantelias (both torn cruciate ligaments), Lerma, Mane (both muscular injuries), Schlotterbeck (injury rehab)

Villarreal: Gulacsi – Mourino, Navarro (83' Alassane), Veiga, Cardona (46' Freeman) – Santi, Gueye – Saliba (59' Pepé) – Buchanan (75' Diatta), Mikautadze, Oluwaseyi (59' Moleiro)Bench: Gomez, Junior; Costa, Macia, Akhomach, Ayoze, Gerard