SORTING OUT THE TIEBREAKING CHAOS IN GROUP F
Anyone who watched Tuesday's pulsating encounter between Dortmund and Napoli were treated to the best that Europe can offer. BVB's 3-1 win leaves them and the Italian side with nine points apiece while group leaders Arsenal top the table with 12 points.
What is interesting is the three-team scenario in which all teams could finish on 12, which would mark the first time a team with that many points wouldn't go through to the knockout rounds. That's why Dortmund was looking for a two-goal victory entering this contest since they know a win on Matchday 6 in Marseille guarantees themselves qualification.
That's because the three-team scenario involves a mini-table among the tied teams. So a 1-0 Dortmund victory on Tuesday coupled with a 3-1 victory for Napoli on Matchday 6 over Arsenal would have meant elimination for last year's runner-up.
However, once Dortmund went up 2-0 it wasn't a disaster to concede and only go on to win 2-1. Why? As boss Jurgen Klopp said, "It was obvious that the team lost their assurance when Napoli pulled it back to 2-1. They didn't realise that the goal actually had no effect on our situation. However, they started to attack again."
Why did it have no effect on the situation? Well had the match finished 2-1, Dortmund would have finished the 4-team head-to-head with 5 goals scored and 5 conceded. That meant that a 2-0 Napoli win on Matchday 6 would have eliminated Arsenal of all teams since Napoli would have scored 5 and conceded 5 in the head-to-heads and Arsenal would be at 4 apiece. With goal difference equal, Arsenal would have been out on goals scored in those matches.
Had Dortmund won 2-1 on Tuesday, even a 3-1 Napoli win would have eliminated Arsenal. In this scenario, Napoli would have scored 6 and conceded 6 in the head-to-head and Arsenal would be at 5 apiece, but Dortmund would pip Arsenal on the basis of away goals in these games (3 to 2). Are you following all of that?
If you are not, don't be alarmed. Klopp laid out the scenarios to his team Monday, but when Napoli made it 2-1, there was confusion by the players as to whether the result would have been good enough. The answer? At 2-1, it probably was enough since only a two-goal win by Napoli on Matchday 6 by scores of 4-2 or higher could have knocked Dortmund out.
This became a moot point for BVB once Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a third goal. But what that goal really did was make Napoli's hill that much steeper against Arsenal. As I outlined before, a 2-0 or 3-1 win would have been enough before for Napoli, but now they must beat the Gunners by three.
It's a bizarre situation and Arsenal must be grateful to Aubameyang for a goal that made their lives much easier.
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