Juve hold edge over Dortmund

24 February 2015 22:31

Juventus claimed a 2-1 advantage after the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Borussia Dortmund.

Carlos Tevez and Marco Reus traded untidy goals before Alvaro Morata restored Juventus' lead late in the first half in Turin.

With no further goals in the second half, the Serie A leaders were left as favourites to progress, although Dortmund's away goal gives them hope.

Little more than a minute had elapsed when Ciro Immobile, against his former club, sent a long-range sighter high and wide of Gianluigi Buffon's goal.

Buffon was then rushed by Giorgio Chiellini's back-pass and hacked the ball out of play, but Marcel Schmelzer's foul throw saw the chance wasted.

Juve took the lead when Morata broke and crossed and Roman Weidenfeller fumbled the ball straight to Tevez to tap home.

But the equaliser arrived five minutes later when Giorgio Chiellini's slip presented the ball to Reus, who calmly tucked it past Buffon from the edge of the box.

Morata nodded Tevez's inventive cutback wide and Bonucci could not get on top of Andrea Pirlo's free-kick before the latter was forced off by injury, Roberto Pereyra taking his place.

But the hosts went ahead again three minutes before the break when Tevez held off Ilkay Gundogan and fed Paul Pogba, who crossed low for Morata to finish from six yards.

Dortmund twice threatened early in the second half, substitute Oliver Kirch unable to convert Schmelzer's free-kick while Buffon saved from Immobile.

For Juve, Chiellini was denied by Weidenfeller while Pogba was unable to finish off a determined run and Tevez flashed high and wide.

Mats Hummels cleared Morata's dangerous cross and Tevez worked space amid a crowd of defenders before getting off a low shot which was deflected wide.

Immobile fizzed an opportunist snap-shot over the bar and Henrikh Mkhitaryan fired wide but Dortmund were only able to muster long-range efforts, save for Immobile's header wide under pressure.

Chiellini headed Claudio Marchisio's corner over after Weidenfeller saved from Tevez before Pereyra missed the chance to give the Italians a dominant first-leg lead, skewing a shot across goal from the corner of the six-yard box.

Source: PA