Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s hattrick enabled Borussia Dortmund to ease past Benfica 4-0 (4-1 on aggregate) to reach the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League on Thursday night in a one sided round-of-16 tie at the Signal Iduna Park.
While Benfica had a 1-0 advantage from the first leg in Lisbon, it had never looked like enough and once Dortmund took the lead as early as the 4th minute, the Bundesliga side’s progression into the last eight never looked in doubt.
Rising high to head home after Ousmane Dembele’s corner from the right had been flicked on to the fast post by Christian Pulisic, the Gabonese striker made amends for his poor showing in the first leg by getting the hosts off to a blistering start.
Benfica had a couple of chances after that as the game settled into a more sedate pace after a breakneck start, with centre back Luisao coming closest to getting an away goal but his header went straight to Dortmund keeper Roman Bürkl.
Dortmund went searching for a second goal but were unable to find one in the first half, despite having the lion’s share of the possession as their attack looked to be a little sluggish in the final third.
Post the interval, Benfica emerged the stronger of the two and should have had their away goal when Franco Cervi pulled the trigger inside the box but thanks to some desperate defending from Die Borrussen, was thwarted much to the disbelief of the away team.
And then two goals in a span of two minutes effectively sealed the tie in the German side’s favour, the first a brilliant dinked finish from Pulisic in the 59th minute. Defender Lukasz Piszceck’s smart through ball had set the 18-year-old forward free but the goal was all about the finish.
Not content with their slender advantage, Thomas Tuchel’s men pressed for a third and they got one with a well-worked team move which ended with Marcel Schmelzer passing across the face of goal for Aubameyang to tap, just two minutes later.
He then got to take the match-ball home when he bagged his hattrick five minutes from time with another tap in as a deflated Benfica side faded horribly towards the end.
Dortmund join the likes of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Barcelona in the last eight of Europe's most prestigious competition and while they aren't favourites, they are very much this year’s dark horses and can upset the continent’s elite on their day.