Dortmund survive wobble to earn 4-1 win over Bilbao
DORTMUND, Germany :Borussia Dortmund were on the brink of blowing a two-goal lead for the second consecutive Champions League game on Wednesday before holding their nerve to earn a 4-1 victory over visitors Athletic Bilbao.
Undefeated across all competitions so far this season, Dortmund, second in the Bundesliga, looked to have learned their lesson after spectacularly conceding two goals deep in second-half stoppage time to settle for a 4-4 draw against Juventus on the first matchday.
Dortmund went 2-0 up with goals from Daniel Svensson and Carney Chukwuemeka in each half and with little resistance from the visitors, who were missing injured forward Nico Williams.
The hosts, who have kept a clean sheet in their last four Bundesliga matches, were disciplined at the back, keeping Bilbao well away from Gregor Kobel's goal for much of the first half.
"We played well in the first half, we deserved the lead, did not allow chances," Dortmund coach Niko Kovac told a press conference. "Until the second goal we were doing everything right but then we had 20 minutes where we had problems."
"They scored and we had to defend. Luckily we scored our third goal at just the right time. But over 70 minutes we did it well and played it out well."
Kovac's team turned on the turbo in the 28th with a quick passing move and with Karim Adeyemi outsprinting his markers before cutting back for Svensson to drill in at the far post. Chukwuemeka then threaded the ball in from a tight angle to double their lead five minutes after the restart.
The Spaniards, however, improved after the break and pulled a goal back through Gorka Guruzeta in the 61st minute before missing several chances to level in a nail-biting finale. They put the ball in the net again but the home fans breathed a collective sigh of relief when Robert Navarro was offside.
Navarro came close again before Dortmund striker Serhou Guirassy, back from injury, settled home fans' nerves with a deflected effort eight minutes from the end to restore their two-goal cushion. Julian Brandt then added another in stoppage time to seal their first win in the competition this season.
