DORTMUND, GERMANY (AP) – Jude Bellingham scored for the fourth Champions League game in a row as Borussia Dortmund drew 1-1 with Sevilla yesterday.
Young players took centre stage as Sevilla took the lead with a header from 20-year-old defender Tanguy Nianzou before Bellingham knocked in Thomas Meunier’s low cross.
The 19-year-old Bellingham has scored in all of Dortmund’s Champions League games this season, joining a select group of players including Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé who have scored in four consecutive games as teenagers in Europe’s leading club competition.
He nearly added a fifth goal of the campaign when he blasted a shot over the bar just before the break.
The draw puts Dortmund on the verge of qualifying for the knockout stages, with two games remaining. A win would have ensured Dortmund went through after Group G leader Manchester City drew 0-0 with FC Copen-hagen earlier.
Nianzou nearly set up Erik Lamela for a second Sevilla goal in the 67th, leaving Lamela one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but his shot was poorly hit and saved.
Dortmund’s attacking midfielder Gio Reyna dribbled into Sevilla’s penalty area as Dortmund pushed for a winning goal in stoppage time before sending the ball wide of the far post.
Reyna came off the bench for his first game since he was hurt playing for the United States (US) national team against Saudi Arabia on September 27.
It was Jorge Sampaoli’s first European game since he returned for a second stint as Sevilla coach last week after Julen Lopetegui was fired following the 4-1 loss to Dortmund in the first game between the teams. Sampaoli previously coached Sevilla in 2016-17 before leaving for the Argentina national team.
Sevilla is third in Group G on two points, the same as last-place Copenhagen. The Spanish team seemed happy to see out the draw in the closing stages before its focus returns to a so-far disastrous season in La Liga, where it is 18th.
