Málaga against Borussia Dortmund

<em>Malaga blogger @davidjaca on Twitter: Gündo&#287;an really stepping up tonight, is looking very comfortable dictating play. Willy [Caballero] perhaps Málaga's best, which says it all really.</em>

<img src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/gp10/i/subs.gif"> Duda on for Isco

Schieber lifts the ball over the crossbar. Lack of composure from 12 yards out.

Malaga have got the second best defence in Spain this season, but they have certainly looks susceptible tonight. Dortmund will be ruing those missed attempts.

Ambitious effort from Antunes. He saw his name in lights when he would have been better off crossing. Over the bar. No danger.

<em>Stats: Malaga won the 2002 Intertoto Cup in their only previous season in Europe. Fulham and Stuttgart also won the trophy that year. </em>

<img src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/gp10/i/subs.gif"> Bender on for Kehl

Santana spoons one high over Caballero's crossbar.

He misses the second leg but he took one for the team there as Lewandowski looked set to bound clear.

<img src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/gp10/i/yellow_card.jpg" height="15"> Iturra booked for tripping Lewandowski.

One for the Premier League fans there. Ex-Blackburn on for ex-Arsenal.

<img src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/gp10/i/subs.gif"> Santa Cruz on for Baptista.

It's just faded a little in the last ten minutes. Malaga seem happy to just not concede. Pellegrini said before the game that keeping a clean sheet was his priority.

Not that I'm advising to go elsewhere, but you can keep updated on the Real Madrid v Galatasaray game <a href="http://espnfc.com/en/gamecast/363613/gamecast.html?soccernet=true&cc=" target="_blank">with Chris Murphy here.</a>

Joaquin with a cute scooped pass when a normal one probably would have done towards Portillo.

<img src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/gp10/i/subs.gif"> Schieber on for Reus.

<em>Stats: Mario Götze has been involved in six of Dortmund?s last 10 Champions League goals, scoring twice and delivering four assists. (courtesy of @OptaJoe)</em>

Malaga stand tall.

Dormund free-kick. Reus lines it up.

<img src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/gp10/i/subs.gif"> Portillo on for Saviola.

Isco with a beautifully-struck shot from just inside the box and Weidenfeller with a solid stop. Seconds later he also thwarts Toulalan from range.

Demichelis challenged but Santana won the ball.

Baptista with a smart turn inside the area and Malaga have another corner.

Gotze again with a chance but again he can't finish. He flashes a shot across goal and wide of Caballero's far post. Three opportunities squandered by the Dortmund wunderkind.

Poor delivery, Weidenfeller fists the ball a long way clear. Huge punch.

Excellent marauding run from Toulalan forces a corner for Malaga.

Gotze in a dangerous position inside the area but the final ball just lacking. He takes a big old hit from Weligton after releasing the pass, too. Ouch.

Malaga sitting back and inviting the pressure.

Dortmund keeping the ball and looking to patiently construct an attack.

Dortmund corner towards Santana. Headed away for a throw-in in front of the away fans.

The ball going from end to end with nothing really to detail. I wish there was something!

Dotmund stream forward with Lewandowski and Gotze, but the latter is penalised after losing the ball and pushing Antunes to the ground.

Grosskreutz cuts the ball back across goal towards Lewandowski but he couldn't quite find his team-mate and Caballero collects.

<em>Stats: Should Pellegrini guide Malaga to the last four, he would be the first manager since Brian Clough in the 1970s to take two debutant clubs to the European Cup semi-finals, having done the same with Villarreal in 2006. </em>

A series of poor touches from both sets of players results in Reus taking down Iturra. Loose.

Malaga turning the screw at the moment, a sustained period of attack from the home side. But still, the best chances have all fallen to Dortmund.

Saviola harasses Subotic and advances with the ball. Like a pitbull he pulls away and bears down on the penalty area but his touch is heavy and the ball escapes.

Lewandowski fluffs his lines with the goal at his mercy. The ball deflected into his path but he sliced his shot from about 12 yards out.

Isco hangs a cross up to the back post but Dortmund clear away.

Lewandowski appeals for handball against Antunes but the referee shakes his head.

And we're off...

Expect them to score in the second half. You heard it here first.

<em>@jsuislogan on Twitter: I'm honestly surprised Dortmund isn't taking hold of Malaga. The Germans have too much pace for Malaga's back line.</em>

As always, I'm keen to hear your views on the match - <a href="https://twitter.com/marklomasESPN" target="_blank">give me a shout on Twitter at @marklomasESPN to have your say. </a>

<strong>HT: Malaga 0-0 Dortmund.</strong> An exciting, open game of football so far - Dortmund have had the better of the possession and chances but Malaga found their way back into the game and Weligton was denied well by Weidenfeller at the end. All it's missing is goals!

There goes the half-time whistle...

Caballero saves Kehl's fierce left-foot curler.

Excellent save from Weidefeller from Weligton's header. Toulalan's follow-up header cleared off the line.

Corner for Malaga.

Joaquin AGAIN gets to the dead-ball line, but AGAIN can only produces the sort of cross that my not-so gifted right-foot could manage.

Weidenfeller spills the ball and Santana bails out his goalkeeper. Dortmund suddenly under pressure.

Joaquin sends in a free-kick but Baptista's header is poor - back across goal towards no-one.

<img src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/images/2013/0403/marcelschmelzermaskprematch20130403_275x155.jpg"><br> Schmelzer sporting a fetching mask.

Isco brings the ball down but Schmelzer gets the block in.

Just as I say that, Lewandowski again receives the ball in a dangerous position. He cuts inside but his shot is scuffed.

Malaga have definitely got back into the game the last ten minutes.

<em>Stats: Malaga could become the first team to win the European Cup/Champions League without ever having won a domestic title. </em>

Joaquin beats the offside trap but his floated cross is a bit of a pants attempt. It was begging to be driven across goal.

Manez with a superb bit of improvisation to escape the clutches of a yellow-and-black shirt and launch an attack for Malaga.

He's curled in narrowly wide as La Rosaleda held its breath.

Reus looks favourite to step up...

He's out of the second leg. Dortmund with a great opportunity from this free-kick.

<img src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/gp10/i/yellow_card.jpg" height="15"> Weligton booked for bringing sown Lewandowski right on the edge of the area.

<em>Stats: Dortmund are one of only seven teams to have a 100% record in Champions League finals, winning on their only appearance thus far against Juventus in 1997. </em>

Poor delivery from the resulting corner and Joaquin scoops it away.

Excellent clearing header by Demichelis with Lewandowski ready to turn the ball in.

Isco with a clever ball towards Saviola but it's just too hard and allows Weidenfeller to come out and boot it clear.

<img src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/images/2013/0403/mariogotzemiss20130403_275x155.jpg"><br> Mario Gotze has spurned two excellent opportunities already.

Isco hasn't seen much of the ball yet - Malaga need to get their young playmaker into the game.

Reus strikes from 20 yards out, powerfully but straight down the throat of Caballero.

Caballero with a dreadful piece of goalkeeping to parry the ball into Grosskreutz path. The ball is in the net, but Lewandowski was offside when he directed the initial header goalwards.

He finds Reus, who plays a one-two with Lewandowski - but the Poland striker's pass slightly overhit and it puts his team-mate a little too wide.

Schmelzer, sporting a particularly fetching black mask this evening, brings Dortmund forward from left-back.

Subotic with a clean challenge to dispossess Saviola. Perfectly timed.

Gündogan fed him in the right side of the area but once more he was thwarted by Caballero. Another good chance, this time side-footed, gone.

Gotze misses another!

Joaquin delivers but it's cleared out by Dortmund.

Manez wins a free-kick tight to the right touchline, in a dangerous position after Grosskreutz's foul.

<em>Stats: Malaga have lost only two of the 26 European games they have played in their history. </em>

A hint of offside perhaps as Gotze sprinted clear but it was still a rubbish finish.

One-on-one with Caballero but he's bottled it. Tame shot that did not really challenge the goalkeeper.

Gotze clean through, put in by Lewandowski's header...

Cristiano Ronaldo has put Real Madrid ahead against Galatasaray in the other match tonight. <a href="http://espnfc.com/en/gamecast/363613/gamecast.html?soccernet=true&cc=" target="_blank">Chris Murphy has live commentary of that one as we speak.</a>

Baptista harries and switches to Joaquin - Gamez crosses on the overlap but can't get it past the first man.

Very open affair so far, Dortmund seeing plenty of the ball. Malaga being patient, not looking like the home team at present.

Gotze with a nifty bit of skill as he feigns to shoot but lets the ball run towards Lewandowski. To be honest, though, he probably should have just tried his luck. The ball was sitting up nicely.

Didn't feel right writing that, can one really 'win' a goal-kick? It's not the best reward.

Toulalan dribbling with the ball in his own penalty area but he seems to know what he's doing as he ends up winning a goal-kick from a tight position.

Best chance of the match so far, Saviola jinks past Gündogan inside the left-side of the box and swings a left-foot shot at the near post but it's into the side-netting.

Kehl and Gündogan exchange passes, before Reus and Gotze do the same, but Malaga standing tall on the edge of their box.

It's been Dortmund dominating the early exchanges, a good overlapping run from Schmelzer just gone but he was a fraction offside.

<em>Stats: Dortmund's last notable appearance in the Champions League knockout stage before this season was a semi-final defeat to Real Madrid in 1998.</em>

Dortmund showing early intent through Kehl and Gotze but Malaga win a free-kick through Baptista.

And we're off...

Here we go then, Champions League quarter-final first leg. Malaga v Dortmund.

Malaga fans belting out "the Champions" - never heard a set of supporters singing that anthem before! They must really want this.

Five minutes until kick-off now, think it's great that one of these two teams will be in the semi-finals - really enjoy watching them both. Fancy Dortmund to go through if there's anything other than a two-goal+ Malaga win tonight.

Our European bloggers have been busy at work ahead of this game - with Malaga man David Cartlidge suggesting a <a href="http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/espnfcunited/id/4670?cc=5739" target="_blank">siege mentality is the best way forward for the first-timers</a>, while Dortmund expert Stephan Uersfeld thinks this tie is <a href="http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/espnfcunited/id/4671?cc=5739" target="_blank">shop window territory for Robert Lewandowski.</a>

Team news is in and there's no place for the injured Jakub Blaszczykowski, which is bad news for Dortmund but great news for my typing fingers.

<img src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/images/2012/1220/jurgenklopp20121003_275x155.jpg"> Borussia Dortmund coach <a href="http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1397678/dortmunds's-jurgen-klopp-predicts-'best-game'-against-malaga?cc=5739" target="_blank">Jurgen Klopp has predicted a thriller</a> tonight -fingers crossed he's right!

It's Malaga's first ever Champions League campaign and they're in the quarter-finals at the first attempt. Midfielder Jeremy Toulalan is among those players <a href="http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1397730/jeremy-toulalan-relishing-malaga%27s-champions-league-run?cc=5739" target="_blank">relishing the chance to shine on the big stage.</a>

Join Mark Lomas <a href="https://twitter.com/marklomasESPN" target="_blank">- @marklomasESPN -</a> for live text commentary of Malaga v Borussia Dortmund from 1945 GMT.

Joaquin with a cute scooped pass when a normal one probably would have done towards Portillo.

<img src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/gp10/i/subs.gif"> Schieber on for Reus.

<em>Stats: Mario Götze has been involved in six of Dortmund?s last 10 Champions League goals, scoring twice and delivering four assists. (courtesy of @OptaJoe)</em>

Malaga stand tall.

Dormund free-kick. Reus lines it up.

<img src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/gp10/i/subs.gif"> Portillo on for Saviola.

Isco with a beautifully-struck shot from just inside the box and Weidenfeller with a solid stop. Seconds later he also thwarts Toulalan from range.

Demichelis challenged but Santana won the ball.

Baptista with a smart turn inside the area and Malaga have another corner.

Gotze again with a chance but again he can't finish. He flashes a shot across goal and wide of Caballero's far post. Three opportunities squandered by the Dortmund wunderkind.

Poor delivery, Weidenfeller fists the ball a long way clear. Huge punch.

Excellent marauding run from Toulalan forces a corner for Malaga.

Gotze in a dangerous position inside the area but the final ball just lacking. He takes a big old hit from Weligton after releasing the pass, too. Ouch.

Malaga sitting back and inviting the pressure.

Dortmund keeping the ball and looking to patiently construct an attack.

Dortmund corner towards Santana. Headed away for a throw-in in front of the away fans.

The ball going from end to end with nothing really to detail. I wish there was something!

Dotmund stream forward with Lewandowski and Gotze, but the latter is penalised after losing the ball and pushing Antunes to the ground.

Grosskreutz cuts the ball back across goal towards Lewandowski but he couldn't quite find his team-mate and Caballero collects.

<em>Stats: Should Pellegrini guide Malaga to the last four, he would be the first manager since Brian Clough in the 1970s to take two debutant clubs to the European Cup semi-finals, having done the same with Villarreal in 2006. </em>

A series of poor touches from both sets of players results in Reus taking down Iturra. Loose.

Malaga turning the screw at the moment, a sustained period of attack from the home side. But still, the best chances have all fallen to Dortmund.

Saviola harasses Subotic and advances with the ball. Like a pitbull he pulls away and bears down on the penalty area but his touch is heavy and the ball escapes.

Lewandowski fluffs his lines with the goal at his mercy. The ball deflected into his path but he sliced his shot from about 12 yards out.

Isco hangs a cross up to the back post but Dortmund clear away.

Lewandowski appeals for handball against Antunes but the referee shakes his head.

And we're off...

Expect them to score in the second half. You heard it here first.

<em>@jsuislogan on Twitter: I'm honestly surprised Dortmund isn't taking hold of Malaga. The Germans have too much pace for Malaga's back line.</em>

As always, I'm keen to hear your views on the match - <a href="https://twitter.com/marklomasESPN" target="_blank">give me a shout on Twitter at @marklomasESPN to have your say. </a>

<strong>HT: Malaga 0-0 Dortmund.</strong> An exciting, open game of football so far - Dortmund have had the better of the possession and chances but Malaga found their way back into the game and Weligton was denied well by Weidenfeller at the end. All it's missing is goals!

There goes the half-time whistle...

Caballero saves Kehl's fierce left-foot curler.

Excellent save from Weidefeller from Weligton's header. Toulalan's follow-up header cleared off the line.

Corner for Malaga.

Joaquin AGAIN gets to the dead-ball line, but AGAIN can only produces the sort of cross that my not-so gifted right-foot could manage.

Weidenfeller spills the ball and Santana bails out his goalkeeper. Dortmund suddenly under pressure.

Joaquin sends in a free-kick but Baptista's header is poor - back across goal towards no-one.

<img src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/images/2013/0403/marcelschmelzermaskprematch20130403_275x155.jpg"><br> Schmelzer sporting a fetching mask.

Isco brings the ball down but Schmelzer gets the block in.

Just as I say that, Lewandowski again receives the ball in a dangerous position. He cuts inside but his shot is scuffed.

Malaga have definitely got back into the game the last ten minutes.

<em>Stats: Malaga could become the first team to win the European Cup/Champions League without ever having won a domestic title. </em>

Joaquin beats the offside trap but his floated cross is a bit of a pants attempt. It was begging to be driven across goal.

Manez with a superb bit of improvisation to escape the clutches of a yellow-and-black shirt and launch an attack for Malaga.

He's curled in narrowly wide as La Rosaleda held its breath.

Reus looks favourite to step up...

He's out of the second leg. Dortmund with a great opportunity from this free-kick.

<img src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/gp10/i/yellow_card.jpg" height="15"> Weligton booked for bringing sown Lewandowski right on the edge of the area.

<em>Stats: Dortmund are one of only seven teams to have a 100% record in Champions League finals, winning on their only appearance thus far against Juventus in 1997. </em>

Poor delivery from the resulting corner and Joaquin scoops it away.

Excellent clearing header by Demichelis with Lewandowski ready to turn the ball in.

Isco with a clever ball towards Saviola but it's just too hard and allows Weidenfeller to come out and boot it clear.

<img src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/images/2013/0403/mariogotzemiss20130403_275x155.jpg"><br> Mario Gotze has spurned two excellent opportunities already.

Isco hasn't seen much of the ball yet - Malaga need to get their young playmaker into the game.

Reus strikes from 20 yards out, powerfully but straight down the throat of Caballero.

Caballero with a dreadful piece of goalkeeping to parry the ball into Grosskreutz path. The ball is in the net, but Lewandowski was offside when he directed the initial header goalwards.

He finds Reus, who plays a one-two with Lewandowski - but the Poland striker's pass slightly overhit and it puts his team-mate a little too wide.

Schmelzer, sporting a particularly fetching black mask this evening, brings Dortmund forward from left-back.

Subotic with a clean challenge to dispossess Saviola. Perfectly timed.

Gündogan fed him in the right side of the area but once more he was thwarted by Caballero. Another good chance, this time side-footed, gone.

Gotze misses another!

Joaquin delivers but it's cleared out by Dortmund.

Manez wins a free-kick tight to the right touchline, in a dangerous position after Grosskreutz's foul.

<em>Stats: Malaga have lost only two of the 26 European games they have played in their history. </em>

A hint of offside perhaps as Gotze sprinted clear but it was still a rubbish finish.

One-on-one with Caballero but he's bottled it. Tame shot that did not really challenge the goalkeeper.

Gotze clean through, put in by Lewandowski's header...

Cristiano Ronaldo has put Real Madrid ahead against Galatasaray in the other match tonight. <a href="http://espnfc.com/en/gamecast/363613/gamecast.html?soccernet=true&cc=" target="_blank">Chris Murphy has live commentary of that one as we speak.</a>

Baptista harries and switches to Joaquin - Gamez crosses on the overlap but can't get it past the first man.

Very open affair so far, Dortmund seeing plenty of the ball. Malaga being patient, not looking like the home team at present.

Gotze with a nifty bit of skill as he feigns to shoot but lets the ball run towards Lewandowski. To be honest, though, he probably should have just tried his luck. The ball was sitting up nicely.

Didn't feel right writing that, can one really 'win' a goal-kick? It's not the best reward.

Toulalan dribbling with the ball in his own penalty area but he seems to know what he's doing as he ends up winning a goal-kick from a tight position.

Best chance of the match so far, Saviola jinks past Gündogan inside the left-side of the box and swings a left-foot shot at the near post but it's into the side-netting.

Kehl and Gündogan exchange passes, before Reus and Gotze do the same, but Malaga standing tall on the edge of their box.

It's been Dortmund dominating the early exchanges, a good overlapping run from Schmelzer just gone but he was a fraction offside.

<em>Stats: Dortmund's last notable appearance in the Champions League knockout stage before this season was a semi-final defeat to Real Madrid in 1998.</em>

Dortmund showing early intent through Kehl and Gotze but Malaga win a free-kick through Baptista.

And we're off...

Here we go then, Champions League quarter-final first leg. Malaga v Dortmund.

Malaga fans belting out "the Champions" - never heard a set of supporters singing that anthem before! They must really want this.

Five minutes until kick-off now, think it's great that one of these two teams will be in the semi-finals - really enjoy watching them both. Fancy Dortmund to go through if there's anything other than a two-goal+ Malaga win tonight.

Our European bloggers have been busy at work ahead of this game - with Malaga man David Cartlidge suggesting a <a href="http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/espnfcunited/id/4670?cc=5739" target="_blank">siege mentality is the best way forward for the first-timers</a>, while Dortmund expert Stephan Uersfeld thinks this tie is <a href="http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/espnfcunited/id/4671?cc=5739" target="_blank">shop window territory for Robert Lewandowski.</a>

Team news is in and there's no place for the injured Jakub Blaszczykowski, which is bad news for Dortmund but great news for my typing fingers.

<img src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/images/2012/1220/jurgenklopp20121003_275x155.jpg"> Borussia Dortmund coach <a href="http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1397678/dortmunds's-jurgen-klopp-predicts-'best-game'-against-malaga?cc=5739" target="_blank">Jurgen Klopp has predicted a thriller</a> tonight -fingers crossed he's right!

It's Malaga's first ever Champions League campaign and they're in the quarter-finals at the first attempt. Midfielder Jeremy Toulalan is among those players <a href="http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1397730/jeremy-toulalan-relishing-malaga%27s-champions-league-run?cc=5739" target="_blank">relishing the chance to shine on the big stage.</a>

Join Mark Lomas <a href="https://twitter.com/marklomasESPN" target="_blank">- @marklomasESPN -</a> for live text commentary of Malaga v Borussia Dortmund from 1945 GMT.