Borussia Dortmund vs. Galatasaray: Score, Grades and Reaction from UCL Game

Borussia Dortmund easily defeated Galatasaray 4-1 during Tuesday's Champions League action, in a match that was overshadowed by several incidents involving Turkish fans and flares.   

The hosts controlled possession early in the match, with Galatasaray forced to defend with numbers and aim for the counter-attack. Umut Bulut wanted a penalty for light contact with Erik Durm, but a booking for a dive would have been more in order.

Dortmund's high pressing and counter-football worked to perfection, but the forwards were missing sharpness in the attacking third and often misplayed the final pass. Wesley Sneijder tried to open the score with a spectacular overhead kick, but it was easily dealt with by Roman Weidenfeller.

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

Sokratis Papastathopoulos had the first good chance for the hosts, rising highest on a corner and heading his effort onto the crossbar. Galatasaray held firm defensively, however, limiting chances for their German challengers.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan came close to setting up Marco Reus with a delightful back heel before servicing Shinji Kagawa, who curled his shot just wide of the goal. The hosts' Twitter account clearly didn't enjoy Galatasaray's tactics:

It was star forward Reus who finally broke the deadlock after 38 minutes, timing his run perfectly to latch on to the through ball from Lukasz Piszczek and calmly slotting the ball past Fernando Muslera.

The Germany international has been in sensational form, via WhoScored.com:

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had one final chance to double the hosts' advantage, but his volley missed the target completely. The teams went into half-time with Dortmund leading 1-0, and as Bundesligafanatic's Cristian Nyari noted, Reus was once again pulling the strings for the hosts:

Sneijder barely missed the target from 30 yards out with the first good chance of the second half, before the match was interrupted because of flares being thrown onto the pitch.

The Vine, via 433LIVE:

Felipe Melo appealed to the fans with little success, but after a few minutes, the action resumed. Immediately after, Dortmund doubled their advantage via a corner. A poor clearance saw the ball dropped back into the box immediately, and Papastathopoulos converted from close range.

Melo looked furious with his fans, as the Galatasaray defence was in complete disarray and unable to deal with the corner as a result of the confusion surrounding the incident with the flares.

Dortmund increased the pressure in search for a third goal, but it was Hakan Balta who pulled one back for the visitors off a corner in the 70th minute. Galatasaray now pushed forward with numbers, and Dortmund executed their counter-plan perfectly, with Ciro Immobile restoring the two-goal lead four minutes later.

The difference between Dortmund's domestic and Champions League form couldn't be any bigger, via WhoScored:

Immobile's goal completely killed Galatasaray's momentum, and things got even worse when the ball ended up in the back of the net off Semih Kaya.

The Galatasaray fans responded by throwing a flare into a section filled with home fans, but the official decided not to halt play. With the lopsided score and few minutes remaining, the players understandably lost interest in playing out the match and simply passed the ball round until the final whistle.

Problems continued after the match, with several fires in the away fans' section of the stadium and thick black smoke coming from the home section. FourFourTwo's Alex Chaffer shared the Vine of the flare that landed among the fans:

Ilkay Gundogan was even confronted by a fan who made his way onto the pitch, but he calmed the supporter down before handing him his shirt.

Grades

Marco Reus: A

The Germany international continues to show why he's one of the most coveted names on the transfer market, orchestrating Dortmund's attack to perfection. As dangerous with the ball at his feet as he is in open space, Die Schwarzgelben need Reus at his best to find success in the Bundesliga.

Erik Durm: B+

Defensively solid and always looking to spring the counter-attack, Durm did a fantastic job limiting the damage of Galatasaray's wingers while contributing significantly in the attacking third.

Felipe Melo: B+

Undoubtedly the Turks' best man on the pitch, Melo's raw strength and excellent positioning broke up numerous attacks, keeping Galatasaray in the match when Dortmund increased the pressure in the first half.

Post-Match Reaction

Cristian Nyari can only conclude Dortmund's way of playing still works on the European stage, but no longer in the Bundesliga:

Jurgen Klopp just wanted his playes to have fun on Tuesday, and he believes that's what they did, via DW Sports: 

Post-Match Outlook

Dortmund secured qualification for the knockout stages with Tuesday's win, and the top spot in Group D is theirs to lose following Arsenal's surprise draw against Anderlecht. Galatasaray are eliminated from the competition and will battle Anderlecht for third place and a ticket to the Europa League, with the two teams meeting on the final matchday.

The Turks could be in some real trouble with UEFA after the behaviour of their fans, and we can expect the organisation to comment on the matter and hand out sanctions in the coming days.

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