Nmecha brace lifts Dortmund past Copenhagen
Borussia Dortmund midfielder Felix Nmecha scored in each half as it overcame conceding an own goal to comfortably beat Copenhagen 4-2 in their Champions League clash at the Parken Stadium.
The Danes defended gallantly in front of their fanatical fans, but were powerless to stop a Dortmund side that dominated possession and had the quality to get the better of them.
Nmecha broke the deadlock in the 20th minute, pulling off a superb dummy on the edge of the area and allowing the ball to run across his body to send Elias Achouri the wrong way before rifling the ball over the keeper.
That could have been the beginning of the end of the Danish resistance, but Dortmund was surprisingly pegged back when defender Ramy Bensebaini's attempted clearance ricocheted off Waldemar Anton and into the visitor's net 13 minutes later.
Dortmund continued to dominate possession and it took the lead again in the 61st minute when Copenhagen's Lukas Lerager was penalised for almost pulling the shirt of Serhou Guirassy over his head at a set piece.
Bensebaini lashed home the resulting spot-kick, and Lerager’s night went from bad to worse as Nmecha easily held him off before firing his second 15 minutes later.
Fabio Silva then netted his first goal for the German side to make it 4-1 before 17-year-old Copenhagen substitute Viktor Dadason became the third-youngest scorer in the competition’s history with a 90th-minute header.
Unbeaten Dortmund, which travels to Manchester City next, is fourth in the table on seven points, with the Danes 31st in the 36-team standings on one point from three games ahead of their trip to Tottenham Hotspur.
Copenhagen coach Jacob Neestrup was under no illusions about the gulf in quality between the sides.
"The players did everything they could, but the difference was too big, especially in the last third of the match. That's why we end up losing deservedly to a team that is simply better than us," he said.
"If you want to win a match like this, you have to score in your good periods ... there are some margins that didn't go our way, and then they show the difference in class. They are better than us in the entire second half."
