Liverpool the winners of 1-1 draw in Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Liverpool
(Hummels 47' - Origi 36')

On one of the most eagerly anticipated nights of the season, Borussia Dortmund sent their former head coach home to England with a smile on his face. Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool executed a near-perfect game plan in an intriguing Europa League encounter that Dortmund failed to impress in.

After an epic pre-match rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone" from both sets of fans, it was time for the talking to stop, and the football to begin.

Tuchel's men pressed hard early on and should have rewarded themselves. Henrikh Mkhitaryan was perfectly placed to guide home Marcel Schmelzer's low cross, but Mamadou Sakho made a pivotal block to deny the Dortmund man. Only three minutes later and Liverpool wasted a set-piece chance when Dejan Lovren couldn't properly connect with a header.

The visitors tried to stay as compact as possible, but Dortmund kept finding space.

Against the run of play, Klopp's charges stunned the home crowd and scored a breakaway goal. Having drawn Mats Hummels out of position, James Milner flicked the ball on for Divock Origi. The Belgian got his shot away and after a small deflection off Lukasz Piszczek's foot, Liverpool were ahead.

Dortmund struggled to digest the change in momentum, although in first half stoppage time it took a stunning block from Lovren to deny Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang an equalizer. At the other end, a brave save from Roman Weidenfeller denied Origi a second as the home side welcomed the interval.

Hummels heads home

The second half started as dramatically as the first ended. Two minutes in and Hummels atoned for his earlier error, leaping to head home from a short corner.

Euphoric from their equalizer, Dortmund nearly immediately conceded a second. After a scramble in the box, Weidenfeller made an outstanding reflex save before parrying two more efforts seconds later.

The arrival of Nuri Sahin for the second half (in place of Erik Durm) returned balance to the home side and after a frantic restart, Dortmund took back control. For all their possesion though, Dortmund couldn't find a way through. Simon Mignolet saved a tame free kick from Marco Reus, who had a noticeably quiet night.

Liverpool's defense stood up to the test, though. Although not always well positioned at first, both Lovren and Sakho scrambled well throughout to prevent Dortmund from truly testing Mignolet.

Even though Alberto Moreno was reckless and fortunately avoided a red card after a flying challenge on substitute Christian Pulisic, his team was not as Liverpool held out for an unexpected result.

Many predicted the Dortmund men would end the tie in the first leg, but Klopp had his side take on the underdog role superbly. Having worked tirelessly to upset Dortmund's rhythm, and with the all important away goal secured, Liverpool will feel like the winners of the first leg.