Dortmund hold Shakhtar in thriller

Matts Hummels headed a late equaliser as Borussia Dortmund twice fought back to draw 2-2 with hosts Shakhtar Donetsk in an entertaining first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie. Darijo Srna put the home side ahead with a trademark free-kick only for Robert Lewandowski to equalise with a low finish 10 minutes later. Shakhtar thought they had done enough for a slender first-leg lead when substitute Douglas Costa capitalised on a Hummels error to fire home in style, but the Germany defender compensated for his mistake with an 87th-minute bullet header. The result means it is very much advantage to Juergen Klopp’s side after getting two away goals at one of Europe’s tougher grounds - their own Westfalenstadion is equally intimidating and, with both sides known for their attacking play, the second leg in three weeks promises to be another cracker. It was not all joyous free-flowing football though, with kick-off delayed as respects were paid following a fatal aeroplane crash in Donetsk earlier on Wednesday, with five people believed to have perished as Shakhtar fans made their way from the Black Sea resort city of Odessa. The first half was still an even, entertaining affair that ebbed and flowed from kick-off to final whistle. Dortmund started positively, taking the game to the hosts as Jakub ‘Kuba’ Blaszczykowski put a low effort wide, Hummels hit the crossbar with a header and Lewandowski was let down by his touch when Kuba found him unmarked in the box. But Shakhtar, who had threatened on the counter attack, took the lead just after the half-hour mark after a needless foul by the shaky Felipe Santana gave Srna a free-kick just outside the Dortmund box. Most of the Croatia full-back’s 20 goals for Shakhtar have come from set pieces, and he made no mistake with a fabulous curling effort inside the top left corner, although Roman Weidenfeller was let down by an over-elaborate wall that failed to jump sufficiently. They almost got a second immediately afterwards when Santana was left floundering by new signing Taison, whose fantastic cross was all set to be buried by Luiz Adriano until left-back Marcel Schmelzer intervened with a vital flick. Dortmund fought back though, with the livewire Kuba hitting another fizzing effort wide before his compatriot drew level. With five minutes until half-time, Dmytro Chyrgynskiy’s poor headed clearance fell to the previously ineffectual Mario Goetze, whose fantastic low cross fell to Lewandowski. The Poland striker initially kicked air, but his embarrassment was spared as two Shakhtar defenders collided, leaving him time and space to pick his spot and fire a low finish past Andriy Pyatov. It was a deserved equaliser, but Shakhtar almost went into the break in front as some poor goalkeeping from Weidenfeller saw him spill Taison’s weak shot into the path of Alex Texeira - the angle was tight for the Brazilian, who found Schmelzer in his way to block the finish. While the first half was a thrilling affair, the second started in subdued fashion, although the otherwise quiet Henrikh Mkhitaryan had a goal-bound finish blocked brilliantly by a more alert Santana. But Santana - who at times looked out of his depth - was less alert as Shakhtar went back in front midway through the second half. The match had descended into a cagey dirge when a high ball from Yaroslav Rakytskyy was defended in atrocious fashion. First Santana failed to hold the line, leaving Hummels and Schmezler backtracking to clear the bouncing ball from Costa, who had only just come off the bench. Hummels, widely regarded as one of Germany’s better defenders, made a mess of his defensive header, completely missing the ball, but what followed was magical. Costa plucked the ball out of the air with his first touch, which left Schmelzer for dead and set up a spinning volley that nestled past Weidenfeller in the bottom right. Dortmund responded as Dortmund do, by launching into waves of attacks that saw Goetze send a spectacular volley inches wide of the right-hand post. But they were leaving gaps in defence, with Hummels having a nightmare as his desperate lunge allowed Mkhitaryan to race in down the right. His low cut-back landed behind Luiz Adriano though, and BvB survived. The positive play did eventually reap rewards as Schmelzer - whose delivery from set pieces had been erratic - put a fantastic corner on to the edge of the six-yard box. As with a similar effort in the first half, Hummels flew in to pound the header on goal: this time it found the target, giving Klopp’s boys a crucial second away goal that means Shakhtar have to win or earn a high scoring draw to get into the quarter-finals. MAN OF THE MATCH Darijo Srna - Shakhtar: Impressive in defence and attack, the Croatia full-back was never far from the action and capped a decent performance with a stunning free-kick. PLAYER RATINGS SHAKHTAR: Pyatov 6, Rat 6, Chygrynskiy 6, Rakitskiy 6, Hubschman 7, Fernandinho 7, Alex Teixeira 7, Srna 7, Luiz Adriano 5, Mkhitaryan 6, Taison 7. Subs: Douglas Costa 7, Eduardo N/A DORTMUND: Weidenfeller 6, Piszczek 7, Santana 5, Hummels 6, Schmelzer 7, Kehl 7, Bender 6, Blaszczykowski 7, Goetze 6, Reus 6, Lewandowski 7. Subs: Leitner N/A, Schieber N/A