Watch: Mbappe scores twice in win; Dembele, Kagawa keep Dortmund alive vs. Monaco
A day after Borussia Dortmund's bus was attacked, resulting in an injury to Marc Bartra and the postponement of the club's Champions League quarterfinal first leg against Monaco, soccer returned to the center stage in Germany at Signal Iduna Park, where Monaco delivered an impressive road performance, but all remains up for grabs.
Monaco scored a 3-2 win, with 18-year-old Kylian Mbappe scoring twice for the Ligue 1 leader. A Sven Bender own goal also helped Monaco's cause, while Dortmund has some reason for optimism after goals from Ousmane Dembele and Shinji Kagawa.
Monaco missed an opportunity to go ahead from the penalty spot in the 17th minute after Sokratis Papastathopoulos was whistled for fouling Mbappe. Fabinho, normally reliable from the penalty spot, hooked his chance wide of diving goalkeeper Roman Burki and the left post, though, letting Dortmund off and keeping the match scoreless.
That is, for a couple of minutes. Mbappe made good off Thomas Lemar's unselfish cross after a dynamic push forward by Bernardo Silva, giving the Ligue 1 leader the advantage and key away goal despite replays indicating offside should have been called.
Monaco doubled its lead in the 35th minute through help from Dortmund's defense. Sven Bender turned a diving header off Andrea Raggi's cross into his own net, making it 2-0.
With Pulisic and Nuri Sahin on at halftime, Dortmund's energy changed, and soon after the host pulled one back. Dembele tapped in from the goal mouth after Shinji Kagawa squared the ball to him, though the real spark was Aubameyang's back-heel flick to Kagawa to open up the sequence.
Mbappe restored the two-goal lead in the 79th minute, pouncing on a poor back pass and showing the composure to finish with a confident blast and beat Burki for his second goal of the day.
That lead didn't last very long, though. Five minutes after, Kagawa pulled another goal back for Dortmund from close range off an assist from Nuri Sahin, making it 3-2 and keeping the options open heading into the second leg.
The game became secondary when it was originally slated to be played Tuesday, when Dortmund's team bus was involved with three explosions. Two suspects have been identified, one of which has been arrested, in conjunction with the attack, which fortunately did not result in any fatalities. Bartra underwent wrist surgery and updated fans with his status in an Instagram post on Wednesday.
Dortmund started a Twitter campaign to arrange for the club's fans and Monaco's traveling fans to connect and help one another, with a number of Dortmund fans hosting their counterparts for the night as the two sides came together amid adversity.
Monaco fans, as they were on Tuesday, showed the utmost respect and support for Dortmund, chanting "Dortmund! Dortmund!" inside the stadium for a second straight day.
Dortmund fans sang in support for Bartra prior to first kick, with Dortmund players showing solidarity for their hurt teammate as well.
And as per usual at Dortmund, the pregame scene in the Yellow Wall was second to none.
It will be Monaco's turn to host in the second leg next Wednesday.
