It’s been a difficult opening 45 for Borussia Dortmund against AS Monaco in their Champions League quarterfinal first leg at the Westfalenstadion. The match, which was postponed until today after a terrorist attack on Dortmund’s team bus, has been evenly contest, but Monaco have benefitted from two refereeing decisions and a comical own goal.
Frauke Koehle, a spokeswoman for Germany’s federal state prosecutor in Karlsruhe, has confirmed that the three explosives that were detonated outside the Borussia Dortmund team bus were pipe bombs capable of traveling more than 330 feet. One of the three explosive devices contained metal strips, according to prosecutors, including one pin that pierced a headrest of a bus seat.
Club form over the last five games
Bayern Munich - W L W W W
Real Madrid - D W W W W
Barcelona will return to the Camp Nou for their quarterfinal second leg with less to do than in the round of 16, but that truth only goes as far as the paper it’s printed on. This Juventus side are a completely different animal than the PSG one Barcelona managed to overcome.
Juventus center back Giorgio Chiellini piled on to their lead against Barcelona, heading in from a corner to make it 3-0 in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.
Chiellini vs Mascherano on a corner? Advantage Chiellini. #JuveFCB #UCL https://t.co/r9WpYlE58o
With unfortunate events transpiring in Germany and the Borussia Dortmund vs. AS Monaco match being postponed until tomorrow, all eyes are on Barcelona and Juventus.
Paulo Dybala didn't give viewers or Barcelona time to get settled into the match by opening the scoring in the seventh minute. The Argentine received a pass from South American brethren Juan Cuadrado after the Colombian froze Jérémy Mathieu with some fancy footwork. Dybala's snap shot gave the goalkeeper no chance.
Police and Borussia Dortmund officials confirmed that an incident occured near the team's bus Tuesday. One person was injured.
A police spokesman told the Associated Press that three explosions hit the Dortmund bus.
Borussia Dortmund were scheduled to play Monaco in a Champions League quarterfinal later today, but the match has been postponed until 12:45 p.m. EST Wednesday.
Juventus vs. Barcelona: A clash of defense and offense in Turin
Last five games
Juve: WLDWW
Barca: LWWWL
A repeat of 2014/15 Champions League final sees the Spanish champions Barcelona traveling to Turin to take on the Italian champions Juventus. Although on paper this looks like a mouthwatering clash that can go either way, recent forms suggest Juve are the clear favorites to get an all important first leg win at home.