Atletico Madrid, on Wednesday, earned a 2-1 Champions League quarter-final first leg victory over Borussia Dortmund, surviving a late onslaught from the visitors.
Rodrigo De Paul and Samuel Lino’s first half goals gave Diego Simeone’s side a commanding lead but Sebastien Haller pulled one back to give the German side a foothold in the tie ahead of next week’s return in Dortmund.
Edin Terzig said his side, fifth in the Bundesliga, were “very nervous” in the first half but they improved and hit the woodwork twice in the final stages of a match which saw security measures reinforced after the Islamic State (IS) group made threats against stadiums used for last-eight ties.
Atletico Madrid had flown out of the traps, keen to grasp a golden opportunity to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 2017.
De Paul said: “We took a little first step, we wanted to win at home.
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“Here we are strong, the fans give us a boost, these nights are incredible – you never know if they will be repeated, the truth is I am very happy.
“When you win, I always think it’s positive because if not, you never enjoy anything.”
Despite not forcing an equaliser, Dortmund captain Emre Can said his team were content with the result.
Can said: “On such a night, one can also go under. There were phases where they completely overpowered us in the duels.
“So, we’ll take the 2-1 and everything is open for next week.”
Dortmund could not cope with the Rojiblancos’ high press in the opening stages and De Paul fired the hosts ahead in the fifth minute after Ian Maatsen gave the ball away.
Goalkeeper Gregor Kobel passed the ball to the on-loan Chelsea defender, who panicked under pressure and played a slack pass which De Paul gleefully intercepted before tucking home.
Atletico have not lost any of their home Champions League knock-out games during Simeone’s 12 years at the helm and continued to flood forward confidently at the baying Metropolitano.
The only negative note from a fine Atletico first half was a booking Lino earned, ruling him out for the second leg.
