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March Report
It was a short month for both teams in March, as Atletico and Dortmund both played a mere five matches each. One unthinkable thing happened, however; for the first time in five months, both Laudrup brothers lost a match in the same week, and a few costly stumbles have left both teams sitting precariously. Let's take a look.
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EINTRACHT BRAUNSCHWEIG 0-2 BORUSSIA DORTMUND (DFB-POKAL 3RD ROUND)
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Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Shinji Kagawa
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BAYERN MUNICH 5-0 BORUSSIA DORTMUND (BUNDESLIGA)
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None
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BARCELONA 3-2 (3-4) BORUSSIA DORTMUND (UCL 1ST KNOCKOUT STAGE LEG 2)
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Ciro Immobile (x2)
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BORUSSIA DORTMUND 3-1 HAMBURG (BUNDESLIGA)
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Nuri Sahin, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Marco Reus (pen)
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BAYER LEVERKUSEN 1-3 BORUSSIA DORTMUND (BUNDESLIGA)
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Matthias Ginter, Ilkay Gundogan (x2)
There is a certain disappointment to losing when you manage a top club like Borussia Dortmund. It's even more disappointing when one of the defeats comes in the form of a derby loss. It's the most disappointing when that derby loss is an absolute hammering from your title rivals that knocks you out of the race for first place.
There were some positives to take from the month. Advancing to the next round in the DFB-Pokal, moving on in the Champions League via a thrilling 3-2 loss in Barcelona where La Blaugrana's 44 shots were repelled by the heroic Roman Weidenfeller, and responding to their losses with two strong wins against Hamburg and Leverkusenn.
So many of those things feel forgotten, however, when one simply takes a look at the Bayern match. Traveling to the Allianz Arena to take on Bayern Munich, who were eight points clear at the top, was never going to be an easy ask.
To be fair to Dortmund, they weren't even necessarily outplayed. They managed 15 shots and 49% of the possession, and yet they simply could not handle Bayern in the final third. The Bavarian side's passing and movement created chance after chance for Muller to score twice, Alonso to net a penalty, Boateng to head home a corner kick, and Robert Lewandowski to score a stoppage time humiliation goal against his former side.
11 points back with 7 games to go, the Bundesliga seems lost. With the Champions League and Cup still on the line, however, it's not yet time to say Brian Laudrup's first season has gone horribly wrong...there's not long left, though, and things must turn around.
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SEVILLA 0-3 ATLETICO MADRID (LA LIGA)
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Mario Suarez, Antoine Griezmann (x2)
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ATLETICO MADRID 2-0 VALENCIA (LA LIGA)
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Diego Godin, Arda Turan
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ESPANYOL 3-1 ATLETICO MADRID (LA LIGA)
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Antoine Griezmann
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ATLETICO MADRID 5-2 (6-3) JUVENTUS (UCL 1ST KNOCKOUT RND LEG 2)
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Guilherme Siqueira (pen), Arda Turan, Mattia Destro, Antoine Griezmann, Marco Storari (OG)
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ATLETICO MADRID 2-0 GETAFE (LA LIGA)
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Gabi, Roberto Lago (OG)
Atletico Madrid also had some answering to do this month as they fell to their first loss since October 1st, being downed 3-1 by Espanyol. Up 1-0 until the last thirty minutes, a late onslaught from the home side found Atletico complacent, leaving Laudrup raging on the touchline as his team blew their lead.
Despite this loss, however, things are looking quite a bit rosier for Los Colchoneros. Antoine Griezmann in particular impressed this month, scoring four goals in five games from left wing. They also have maintained their lead atop La Liga, and with ten matches to go they keep their slender one point lead over archrivals Real Madrid.
Speaking of rivals, Atletico gave their fans a little boon to celebrate with another Madrid derby victory over Getafe. The third-smallest of the four capital city clubs in La Liga, the Parakeets never really stood a chance as Gabi and Koke dominated the game from first to last whistle in the middle of the park.
The biggest highlight of the month, however, was undoubtedly the 5-2 thrashing of Juventus. When the Old Lady flew out to Madrid following the 1-1 draw in the first leg, most people were expecting a tightly-contested second leg. With the Italian side always known for their defensive capabilities, a seven-goal explosion was not at all foreseen.
The goals came from everywhere, as they have all season, and Atletico are on to the quarterfinals of the Champions League with ease. Going strong in the league and in the finals of the Copa del Rey, though it is unlikely, the treble might just be on for Los Colchoneros and Michael Laudrup.
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EINTRACHT BRAUNSCHWEIG 0-2 BORUSSIA DORTMUND (DFB-POKAL 3RD ROUND)
Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Shinji Kagawa
BAYERN MUNICH 5-0 BORUSSIA DORTMUND (BUNDESLIGA)
