Having scored exactly four goals in four of their five previous league phase matches, Dortmund expectedly started out on top, but they didn’t have things all their own way early on.
Julian Brandt’s header over the bar was quickly forgotten by the Westfalenstadion faithful as they almost witnessed their side go behind twice to Kasper Hogh, who was first denied one-on-one by Gregor Kobel, before the Swiss stopper brilliantly tipped his next effort onto the near post.
As is usually the way for unfancied visitors here, Glimt paid dearly for their inability to convert, as Fabio Silva broke away and shifted the ball to Brandt on his left, with the midfielder lifting it into the net despite Nikita Haikin’s best efforts.
The hosts kept pushing and saw Jobe Bellingham and Silva go close in the aftermath, but the mood around the ground was altered abruptly just before half-time, when Patrick Berg’s cross following a short corner fell perfectly onto the head of Haitam Aleesami, who nodded through Kobel’s legs to level things up.
The away end was full of optimism as the second half got underway, but that was quickly squashed just six minutes later.
Maximilian Beier’s diving header was parried by Haikin, but only far enough for Brandt to arrive and tap in on the rebound.
Aaron Anselmino’s header was then kept out by Haikin’s sharp reflexes, as Dortmund looked to move in for the killer blow that would dispose of last season’s UEFA Europa League semi-finalists once and for all.
However, Haikin’s save would prove crucial with 15 minutes remaining, as Hakon Evjen sped towards the area and somehow shuffled it to Jens Petter Hauge, who picked his spot inside the far post.
If there was to be a winner, one might have expected Dortmund to forge ahead in the dying minutes. But they instead had to count themselves lucky that Kobel was on form to stop Daniel Svensson from diverting into his own net.
Die Schwarzgelben remain outside the top eight as a result and will likely need to beat both Tottenham Hotspur and Inter Milan to progress directly to the last 16.
Meanwhile, despite a gutsy performance from the visitors, a point is unlikely to be enough to give them a chance at progression from here. As such, they will now simply look to use the final two matchdays as a means to becoming the first Norwegian side to win a UCL main-draw match since the 2007/08 season.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Julian Brandt (Borussia Dortmund)
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