Guirassy Scores Twice As Dortmund Beat Villarreal in Champions League Opener

Serhou Guirassy was at the centre of a dramatic night as Borussia Dortmund started their UEFA Champions League campaign with a 3-2 victory over Villarreal. The striker scored twice but also put the ball into his own net late in the game which made the match a bit interesting.

Villarreal were dangerous from the start and came close to taking the lead before half-time. Georges Mikautadze wasted a close-range opportunity, while Tajon Buchanan also went close, only for Gregor Kobel to deny him with a good save.

Dortmund were unable to create much before the break and were probably relieved to go into half-time on level terms. Their luck changed soon after the restart when Maximilian Beier’s cross took a touch off Renato Veiga and ended up in the Villarreal defender’s own net in the 53rd minute.

The visitors responded quickly and got back on level terms in the 67th minute. Santiago Mourino met the ball with a clever header at the near post and beat Kobel, who had only just returned to the game after receiving treatment.

Kobel was tested again moments later when Buchanan unleashed a powerful shot, but the Dortmund goalkeeper reacted well to push it over the bar. Dortmund then had a chance at the other end, although Guirassy and Beier failed to connect properly with Marcel Sabitzer’s delivery.

Guirassy had little to celebrate on his 100th appearance for Dortmund until the closing stages. He finally found the net in the 80th minute, getting on the end of a Fabio Silva pass across the goal and turning it home.

A few minutes later, Guirassy came through again with a fine strike after Mourino fouled him while defending a corner. The Dortmund forward stepped up to take the resulting penalty and made no mistake from the spot to score his 64th goal for the club.

The game took another strange turn late on. Kobel stopped an effort from Villarreal, but the ball came back off Guirassy’s face and went into the Dortmund goal. That gave the visitors a chance to equalize, however, Dortmund held their nerves to secure the lead and eventually win the match by 3-2 in the end.