Marcel Sabitzer, a former Manchester United midfielder, made a strong statement as he propelled Borussia Dortmund to the semifinals of the Champions League.
In a closely contested quarterfinal match against Atletico Madrid, the Austrian midfielder not only scored the game-winning goal, but also assisted on two others. After Sabitzer sent on Chelsea loanee Ian Maatsen in the first half, Niclas Fullkrug headed home a cross from Sabitzer to draw Germany level after the first leg.
At the 74-minute mark, Sabitzer nudged the ball into the area with a touch and then sent a left-footed shot past Jan Oblak. A raucous of joy broke out when Sabitzer, accompanied by teammates both on and off the field, sprinted to the far corner of the field, leaping over the advertising boards.
With his goal, the 30-year-old helped his team to a 4-2 victory at the Westfalenstadion and an aggregate score of 5-4. In the semi-finals, the German team will meet Paris Saint-Germain following Barcelona’s embarrassing collapse in the quarter-final match.
Sabitzer, who joined Dortmund from Bayern Munich for about £16 million, has been a mainstay under Edin Terzic’s tutelage and has contributed six goals in 34 games this season. Some fans at Old Trafford may have wondered what they were missing after seeing him win the match this evening.
United won the Carabao Cup and advanced to the Champions League in Sabitzer’s second half of last season. After falling to last place in their group just before Christmas, the Red Devils failed to make nearly as much improvement as the Dortmund star.
Even for United, the midfielder’s most impressive performance came in European competitions. Even though he scored twice in the first leg of Manchester United’s Europa League match against Sevilla, Sabitzer was unable to advance his team that day.
But Sabitzer won over Owen Hargreaves, another ex-United midfielder, on Tuesday night. The former RB Leipzig player was the object of his gushing adulation as he spoke with TNT Sports. Sabitzer has had a terrific game, according to Hargreaves.
When it mattered most, he was there. Everything that Sabitzer touched today became golden, indeed. Sabitzer was the one who turned the game when it mattered most; it’s true that players must step up when the pressure is on.