Bellingham calmed the raucous Istanbul crowd with the opening goal, then unpicked the home defense for an easy tap-in for Haaland’s first, who now has 21 goals in 17 Champions League games. It remained 2-0 until late in extra time, when Javi Montero scored a consolation goal for Besiktas.
“It’s a brilliant atmosphere and a pleasure to play in front of these fans,” Bellingham told European football news after the match, “but the most important thing was to put in that performance and get the win. “It was end to end, a bit like basketball, but we were just more clinical”. These and more football news and results are offered on the leading Vwin sportsbook In Vietnam.
Bellingham, who kissed his teammate’s cheek during his post-match interview, received high appreciation from Haaland. “He’s amazing; he’s 18, three years younger than me,” Haaland remarked. The towering striker added to his reputation as a prolific scorer, scoring 14 goals in ten appearances for Dortmund and Norway this season.
“It was a really hard game, the pitch wasn’t good, but we fought and did well, so I am happy with the win,” said Haaland.
“I love the Champions League and, I mean, I am a goal-scorer, that’s my job,” added the Norwegian when asked about his exploits in the Champions League.
After the second goal, Haaland and Bellingham bumped chests, although the club is allegedly fighting to maintain both young talents beyond this season, with Europe’s best keeping tabs on them.
Haaland, who is just 21 years old, has 66 goals in 66 appearances for Dortmund. His contract has a release clause that goes into effect next year and allows him to depart for 75 million euros.
Bellingham is also being pursued by a number of Premier League teams, including Liverpool and Chelsea.
When asked about Dortmund’s chances in this year’s Champions League, Haaland gave a clever response. “I don’t think too much about that, I go game to game, but that is my dream and I will try to do that in my life.”
Chelsea loanee Michy Batshuayi was denied only by a one-handed stop by Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel after six minutes, but the rest of the first half was dominated by the visitors.
When Bellingham grabbed onto Thomas Meunier’s cushioned volley in behind the defense and blasted between the legs of Besiktas goalkeeper Ersin Destanoglu, the Besiktas crowd went silent.
Haaland tapped in following Bellingham’s mazy run shortly before halftime to increase Dortmund’s advantage.
The hosts saw an improved second half performance as Besiktas playmaker Miralem Pjanic caused the Dortmund’s defence all sorts of trouble. The pressure paid off when Montero got on the end of a Pjanic free-kick in stoppage time to deny Dortmund their first clean sheet in almost five weeks.
In the other Group C clash, Sebastien Haller scored four goals in Ajax’s 5-1 thrashing of Sporting Lisbon to mark one of the greatest Champions League debuts ever.
After a second-minute opener, the former West Ham striker quickly added his second from close range, thanks to another Antony assist.
Paulinho pulled a goal back for the hosts, but Steven Berghuis restored Ajax’s lead before the break.
The thrashing was completed when Haller scored twice in the second half.
Marco van Basten was the first champions league debutant to score four when AC Milan beat IFK Goteborg in November 1992.
