Ethan Nwaneri impressed again for Borussia Dortmund after coming off the bench in their 1-0 defeat to Bodo/Glimt, and had a couple of chances to save the game for his loan side.
Ethan Nwaneri produced a lively cameo for Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday night, even though his side were beaten 1-0 away to Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League.
The 19-year-old started on the bench as Niko Kovac made five changes, but was brought on in the 60th minute as part of a quadruple substitution eight minutes after Fredrik Sjovold had put Bodo/Glimt ahead.
Nwaneri replaced Konstantinos Karetsas and quickly found himself involved in Dortmund’s attempt to rescue the game.
His clearest opportunity arrived in the 74th minute, when he was presented with a free header but failed to direct it well enough.
Dortmund’s own report noted the lack of placement, while ESPN described it as a “golden opportunity”.
He went close again later after a corner, only for Nikita Haikin to save his effort as Dortmund increased the pressure in search of an equaliser.
Nwaneri ultimately left without a goal or assist, but his half-hour appearance again showed the attacking threat he has brought to Dortmund since joining on loan from Arsenal.
Only five Dortmund players received a higher match rating than Nwaneri, and four of those were starters.
Dortmund signed Nwaneri on September 1 until the end of the season, with the move coming in response to Giannis Konstantelias’s knee injury.
His Bundesliga record currently stands at four appearances, three starts and 248 minutes, without a goal but with one assist.
Nwaneri also featured in Dortmund’s earlier Champions League victory over Villarreal, coming on as a first half sub, making the defeat in Norway his sixth competitive appearance for the club.
The lack of goals does not tell the whole story of his start in Germany. Against Werder Bremen in their 2-2 draw at the weekend, Nwaneri played 63 minutes, had three shots, two of them on target, and completed 26 of his 29 passes.
He also produced an inventive flick to send Maximilian Beier through on goal, while reporting before the Bodo/Glimt match credited him with creating three big chances in his first 248 Bundesliga minutes.
Nwaneri also thought he had opened his Dortmund account in spectacular fashion against Bremen with an overhead kick, only for the goal to be disallowed for an earlier offside.
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