Well, nothing was solved exactly by the first leg of this Champions League quarterfinal between Malaga and Borussia Dortmund, two European underdogs,. They received 0-0 in Spain last week, with Dortmund ruing a sequence of missed chances. So that means that things have to be completed today. And, in just one of those perversions developed by the absent goals rule, the benefit in Dortmundas Westfalenstadion actually lies with Malaga. As the first leg was scoreless, any tie would be adequate to begin to see the Spanish part through, provided it scores at least once. Even 0-0 wouldnat be described as a disaster, since extra time would be forced by it and possibly penalty kicks. For Dortmund, the task is really a clear. Gain today and it might finally shake its tag of adark horse for the discerning Europhilea and cement its place among Europeas true contendersa'even although it won your competitors out of nowhere in 1997. This yearas Dortmund part plays with a high-energy model that will trouble any of the remaining Champions League groups, just not Malaga in the first leg. Neither group has much left to play for within their respective domestic leagues. Dortmund canat gain the Bundesligaa'Bayern Munich actually clinched it over the weekenda'and the clubas second invest the standings isnat under severe threat, so it knows it will be back the Champions League next year. Malaga, meanwhile, is sixth in La Liga after some recent average type, but it probably doesnat issue a whole lot since UEFA barred it from another European competition it qualifies fora'itas an extended story about financial irregularities, Qatari royalty, and the Spanish tax man. So while Real Madrid is expected to cruise into the semifinals in the eveningas other gamea'Madrid travels to Galatasaray in Turkey holding a 3-0 advantage on aggregatea'Malaga and Dortmund will soon be on hand to offer tonightas real dilemma. Weall be back with lineups and more briefly before kickoff at 2:45 Eastern.
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