Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Lille: Haraldsson snatches first-leg draw for visitors

Hakon Haraldsson scored with Lille’s only shot on target to seal a share of the spoils in their Champions League last 16 first leg against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday.

Dortmund were left to rue a glut of missed opportunities to extend their lead, having been rifled ahead by Karim Adeyemi’s stunning strike in the 22nd minute.

After a slow start, Serhou Guirassy, the competition’s top scorer, had the first sight of goal, but was unable to test Lucas Chevalier after being found by Jamie Gittens.

But Niko Kovac’s side went ahead when Julian Ryerson’s corner was cleared only as far as Adeyemi, who finished brilliantly with a first-time effort from the edge of the box.

Nico Schlotterbeck then sent a shot narrowly wide, before Pascal Gross had the ball in the net from close range just before the break, but it was ruled out for offside.

Dortmund failed to build on their dominance in the second half, and were duly punished by Haraldsson, who prodded past Gregor Kobel after collecting Jonathan David’s smart pass.

The hosts failed to carve out any clear chances for the remainder, and were forced to withdraw Daniel Svensson following a poorly timed challenge by Lille’s Andre Gomes.

Data Debrief: Dortmund fail to land knockout blow

The story of Dortmund’s season has been inconsistency in results. And despite Kovac’s appointment, that story transpired once again in a frustrating game on Tuesday.

BVB managed just one shot on target from the seven they attempted, four of which were inside the box, amounting to an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.26.

However, they are now unbeaten in their last six home knockout matches in the Champions League (W4 D2) – their second-longest run in the competition, after only a seven-game streak between March 1997 and April 2013.

And it was Haraldsson whose strike proved decisive. He netted his third goal in the Champions League, making him the second-highest Icelandic scorer in the competition, behind only Eidur Gudjohnsen (seven).