Dortmund’s first goal was by far the best football of the night, as an attacking free-kick from the visitors was easily cleared before the hosts embarked on a sweeping counter-attack which found Henrik Mkhitaryan in space down the right channel. It looked as though the best option for the Armenian was to shoot, but he elected to chip the ball across the crowd in the area to Marco Reus, who played a fantastic short pass for the onrushing Robert Lewandowski to tap in from point-blank range.
Borussia Dortmund vs. Olympique Marseille: Final score 2-0, BVB cruise past toothless l’OM
Borussia Dortmund had one moment of genius and one moment of comedy to thank for their goals as they easily defeated a lacklustre Olympique Marseille 2-0.
A counter from a set-piece once again provided an opening for Dortmund shortly afterwards, but Lewandowski’s near-post finish was not high enough to prevent Steve Mandanda from getting across to keep the ball out.
After Marseille saw a decent penalty shout turned down after Saber Khalifa was brought down in the area, Dortmund once again broke through an increasingly-leaky l’OM midfield. But Mkhitaryn chose to pass short and square when better options were available, and the attack was wasted as the visitors’ defence cleared.
Lewandowski had the ball in the net once again as the half drew to a close, picking up a flick-on to smash in at the near post from close range, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Bayern didn't have to wait too long before doubling their advantage, going 2-0 up five minutes after the start of the second half. A long free-kick into the box did the damage, as Steve Mandanda was deluded by the delivery eluding several (offside) Dortmund players, responding by palming the ball into the ground, almost over his own goalline, before Reus arrived to make sure.
Mandanda redeemed himself slightly shortly afterwards as his defence once again opened up to allow Reus in, but his placed finish in the far corner was averted by the Marseille keeper doing well to divert the shot wide by thrusting out a foot.
Anything that Marseille had been offering going forward then fell away with the tempo of the game, with Dortmund happy with the scoreline. And eventually the hosts made it 3-0, after fortuitously gaining a penalty after Reus broke through into the area. Nicolas Nkoulou got a clear foot on the ball but collided with the player afterwards, leading to the referee to point to the spot. Lewandowski stepped up and sent Mandanda the wrong way to put some gloss on the scoreline.
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