Malaga and Borussia Dortmund played out a scoreless draw in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final clash at La Rosaleda on Wednesday.
The Spanish side will be the happier of the two teams after the Germans champions squandered numerous chances to win it and now the tie is delicately poised heading into the return leg in Dortmund.
Malaga had the first decent opportunity of the game when Javier Saviola beat his marker and sent in a low shot wide of the target.
Both teams were cautious in the early going but Dortmund really should have taken the lead in the 13th minute.
Robert Lewandowski’s flick on sent Mario Gotze clear through on goal but the German international wasn’t able to beat Willy Cabellero.
Malaga was once again thanking its lucky stars when Cabellero got the better of Gotze only moments later.
The Spanish club was on the back foot but almost took the lead on the cusp of halftime only to be denied by a double stop from Dortmund keeper Roman Weidenfeller.
Both teams had to be content with a 0-0 scoreline heading into the break.
The Germans had a glorious opportunity to take the lead when Gotze cut the ball back to Robert Lewandowski, who inexplicably sent his shot wide from just eight yards out.
It was a glaring miss and the visitors looked a bit confounded as to how they hadn’t managed to open the scoring.
Dortmund continued to search for the opener but was lacking some cutting edge in the final third.
Gotze had yet another chance to break the scoreless deadlock but his shot failed to find the bottom corner. It was that kind of night for the young German star, who could not buy a goal against the Spaniards.
Malaga and Borussia Dortmund will now settle matters once and for all in Germany next Tuesday night.
