3️⃣ points as Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona share the spoils | OneFootball

The Champions League kicked back into action with a stalemate between Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona at the Westfalenstadion.

Although it wasn’t the goalfest we expected, it still had its fair share of drama.

Thinking on the spot?

Taking penalties is no easy task and we aren’t saying regular taker Marco Reus should have handed the ball away.

But it was perhaps something worthy of consideration on this occasion.

Going into the game, he had only missed two of 16 penalties he had taken as a Borussia Dortmund player.

But before the kick was taken, there was trepidation about Reus facing Marc-André ter Stegen between the posts.

These are men who know each other well from both their Germany and Borussia Monchengladbach days and the goalkeeper would have been well-versed in the attacker’s spot-kick habits.

The German, who had an incredible game, would also have been familiar with Paco Alcácer from their days at the Camp Nou.

Perhaps Thorgan Hazard would have been an option on this occasion given his lack of real history.

All that said, it was still a fantastic save and it is a minor complaint given the razor-thin margins of this contest.

A gentle reminder

For much of this game, it seemed that every time Ansu Fati touched the ball, he lost it.

Whether it was from dribbling too much and losing possession or supplying a slack pass, things just didn’t happen for him.

After a period in which he must have felt like a mini Midas with everything he touched, this was perhaps a sharp reminder of how tough this game is.

And it could be an important one for both player and public too in slowing his roll a little.

This is still just a 16-year-old playing at the highest level of the game and naturally you won’t have it all your own way.

With Lionel Messi now back, it will also give Fati some much-needed time out of the spotlight again.

Ter Stegen makes his point

In the week that he became embroiled in a war of words with international team-mate Manuel Neuer, he backed it up.

Ter Stegen was criticised by the Bayern Munich for making a public complaint about his lack of playing time with Germany.

And on his return to his homeland, he showed why he has a case.

Neuer and co. could do nothing but tip their cap to the Barcelona shot-stopper for his performance in this one.

The penalty save from Marco Reus was the cherry on top of an excellent performance.

He made several others from the Dortmund captain which were extremely impressive too in their own personal duel.

In the week that he talked the talk (with good reason), then then walked the walk in front of his own people.