Julian Weigl Masterclass Lifts Spirited Borussia Dortmund Past Sporting CP

Borussia Dortmund held on for a massive win in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday evening, beating Sporting CP 2-1 away from home to keep a hold of the top spot in Group F.

Their victory means the Black and Yellows will qualify for the round of 16 with a win in the return fixture and set up the final match of the group stage at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium as a final for the group win.

Considering Dortmund's injury crisis, a point would have been a positive result at the Estadio Jose Alvalade. Head coach Thomas Tuchel had to experiment with his lineup, moving right-back Felix Passlack to the left side of defence and Matthias Ginter outside from his spot at centre-back, where, crucially, Marc Bartra and Sokratis Papastathopoulos returned.

All four had fairly strong evenings, with Passlack getting a lot of help from fellow 18-year-old Christian Pulisic in the second half after letting impressive winger Gelson Martins go past him a few times in the first period.

In midfield, Shinji Kagawa replaced Sebastian Rode after his poor performance from the previous Bundesliga matchday, where the 26-year-old failed to make any impact in a double pivot with Julian Weigl in a 1-1 draw with Hertha BSC.

Kagawa's inclusion meant Dortmund returned to their 4-1-4-1 look, the system that has easily produced the best performances so far. After a bit of a rough opening sequence, the Ruhr side settled down in their comfortable alignment and benefited greatly from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's early opener.

The Gabon international scored after just nine minutes, receiving the ball from a lovely Mario Gotze flick, sprinting past Ruben Semedo and expertly dispatching the chance with a cheeky lob over Rui Patricio.

If ever there was a goal that showcased Aubameyang's complete package as a striker, this was it: a perfect blend of pure speed to get past the defender, power to hold him off and finishing ability to cap off his run.

"

Aubameyang's goal against Sporting.

Only Varane & Ramos can catch him  pic.twitter.com/bvbnBhx0fd

— Mano (@Officialhbkmano) October 18, 2016"

After the 27-year-old wasted a number of good opportunities—including a spot-kick—against Hertha, it was important to see him bounce back in impressive fashion in the Champions League. It was not only his goal, either, as he looked more engaged in his team's general play, ending up with 30 touches, per WhoScored.com, and put in a solid defensive shift when it was needed in the second half as well.

That he and Gotze had much better evenings than on Friday was just as important for Dortmund's improved performance as the return of the first-string centre-back duo. Gotze benefited from the system change and looked far more lively than in the Bundesliga.

Apart from his assist for Aubameyang, the 2014 FIFA World Cup winner created another huge chance for his striker and won a number of important tackles in midfield to keep Sporting from creating dangerous attacks.

However, there is only one choice for man-of-the-match honours. Julian Weigl was by far the best player in a strong team effort from Dortmund. The 21-year-old had more space than in recent matches after a questionable tactical decision from Sporting head coach Jorge Jesus and his assistant Raul Jose, who replaced the suspended former Benfica boss on the touchline.

It allowed for a better ball circulation from the Black and Yellows, who had struggled creating penetration in games against Bayer Leverkusen and Hertha.

Weigl was back to being the main passing hub for his side, as the graphic below indicates:

When Dortmund's play revolved around the Germany international, good things usually follow and, with Sporting allowing him acres of space, the former 1860 Munich youngster even developed undreamt qualities.

Weigl scored his first professional goal to double his side's lead two minutes before half-time. And it was a beauty, as he won a loose ball against the physically imposing William Carvalho and shook Brazilian midfielder Elias out of his boots with an elegant body feint before striking the ball perfectly in the lower-left corner of the goal.

As far as first goals at senior level go, he could hardly have scored a prettier one—or a more important one, for that matter. "I am not really sure what I did for the goal," he said after the match, per the club's offical website. "I am ecstatic that I finally found the back of the net."

Tuchel told German broadcaster Sky that he only recalled one other goal from his No. 33, with Weigl scoring in a final training session ahead of a UEFA Europa League match against PAOK last season. It was so special the coaching staff have it on video, the 43-year-old joked.

Weigl had told Deutsche Welle's Jonathan Harding before the season started that he wanted to "take the next step, to take more players out of the play with my passes and be more attacking." For now, it's mission accomplished for the midfielder, who earned a perfect 10-out-of-10 rating from ESPN FC's Stefan Buczko.

His goal could have made for smooth sailing in the second half and, for a while, that seemed to be the case. Sporting pushed forward, but their efforts split on a rock time and time again, with both Bartra and Sokratis sniffing out the danger and making important interceptions and interventions.

The game took a dramatic turn in the final 23 minutes, when Bartra gifted Sporting an indirect free-kick from about 10 yards after a miscommunication with goalkeeper Roman Burki. The Switzerland international rushed out of his goal to pick up a ball, but the Catalan needlessly poked it into his arms.

However, fans should not be too hard on their No. 5. Bartra had already signalled to the sideline that he had to be taken off with what the club later announced on Twitter (link in German) were circulation problems.

FRANCISCO LEONG/Getty Images

The only blame that should go towards the 25-year-old is that he did not immediately sit down on the ground to force the substitution. At any rate, Bruno Cesar thumped the free-kick into Dortmund's goal, Bartra had to be taken off for Lukasz Piszczek and the visitors were in for a wild ride to see out the game.

Ginter moved to centre-back as a result of Bartra's problems, but he also had to leave the pitch just three minutes later. Rode came on, pushing Piszczek to centre-back.

Already heavily influenced by a barrage of injuries—key figures such as Gonzalo Castro, Raphael Guerreiro, Marcel Schmelzer and Andre Schurrle were missing—Dortmund finished the match without a single defender playing the full match in his starting position, because Sokratis switched sides in central defence and Passlack had to leave with cramps in injury time.

It is a testament to the team's maturation that they dug their claws into the game and held on for a massive result. No fan could have faulted them for coming away with only one point when the game turned hectic in the final minutes—a whopping seven of them were added after regulation time—so seeing them hold on for a crucial victory was incredibly pleasing.

Dortmund may not be consistent at this stage of the campaign, but they are in an excellent position in the Champions League and, on the evidence of a Tuesday night to remember, capable of grinding out results against the odds.

What more can fans expect from a young team?

Lars Pollmann also writes for The Yellow Wall. You can follow him on Twitter.