Marco Reus (L) of Dortmund vies with Suso of Sevilla during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg football match between Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla FC in Dortmund, Germany, on March 9, 2021. (Photo by Joachim Bywaletz/Xinhua)
BERLIN, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Borussia Dortmund booked its berth in the quarterfinals after Erling Haaland was on target twice to ensure a 2-2 draw with Sevilla (5-4 on aggregate) in the UEFA Champions League round of the last 16 on Tuesday.
The BVB progressed into the next round as its first-leg 3-2 victory and a 2-2 draw on home soil were enough to knockout resilient Sevilla.
The visitors from Spain knew that only a victory could turn things around and that is how they started on the road. Sevilla came out flying and dominated Dortmund in the opening stages as Lucas Ocampos unleashed a dangerous long-range effort with only three minutes played before Suso's shot from the edge of the area went just wide in the 18th minute.
Dortmund defended deep and focussed on a well-organized defense whereas Sevilla pushed forward relentlessly.
Although Sevilla dominated possession and was the more active team it was Dortmund who broke the deadlock against the run of the play as Marco Reus' square pass into the box allowed Haaland to tap home the opener with 35 minutes played.
The visitors were visibly shocked by Dortmund's goal whereas the hosts clinically took the narrow lead into halftime.
After the restart, things went from bad to worse for the visitors as Dortmund doubled its advantage after Haaland converted a penalty into the bottom right corner in the 51st minute
Sevilla needed three goals to force overtime but Julen Lopetegui's men kept it bowling and got the chance to halve the deficit in the 69th minute after Emre Can fouled Luuk de Jong inside the box. Youssef En-Nesyri stepped up and drilled the ball into the center of the goal to make it 2-1.
The visitors grew in confidence while Dortmund remained dangerous on the counterattack but for all that Mahmoud Dahoud's strike from eight meters was no challenge for Sevilla goalkeeper Bono with six minutes remaining.
Sevilla was rewarded for its will to score another goal as En-Nesyri nodded home a corner from Ivan Rakitic to restore parity in added time.
The Spaniards pressed frenetically for the winner, but Dortmund protected the draw and their ticket to the next round until the final whistle.
"It was a tough game. We knew that they were going to come at us very hard, but when we scored, they needed three goals," said Dortmund striker Erling Haaland.
"We are not happy with the result. We played very well. The truth is, we didn't have any luck today," said Sevilla striker Youssef En-Nesyri. Enditem