Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hooked from Borussia Dortmund defeat at Benfica because of 'body language'
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Thomas Tuchel has suggested that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's body language was the reason he was hooked from Borussia Dortmund's defeat at Benfica.
Dortmund suffered a 1-0 defeat at the Estadio da Luz on Tuesday night after Kostas Mitroglou struck early in the second half.
Aubameyang missed a penalty - seeing his effort saved straight down the middle - after squandering a host of clear-cut chances and he was subsequently withdrawn in the 62nd minute.
The decision raised eyebrows given Aubameyang's importance to the side, not to mention his 21 goals in all competitions this season.
But Tuchel told UEFA.com: "Aubameyang is not fully fit after the African Nations Cup and his body language did not suggest that he would do better after giving away the penalty.
(Photo: REUTERS)
(Photo: REUTERS)
(Photo: Alexandre Simoes)
"I don't think he had a problem with the substitution."
Tuchel could hardly believe his side drew a blank in Portugal, having racked up 12 goal attempts to the home side's two.
Ousmane Dembele, Marco Reus and Christian Pulisic were among those who had chances to drag Dortmund back into the match but they will have to wait for Benfica to visit the Westfalenstadion to put things right.
"It is an extremely complicated result, but I am very proud of how we played," said Tuchel.
"Even though I am very disappointed, I am proud of how we presented ourselves. I don't think we played well, I think we played outstandingly. It's only possible in football to play this well and to still lose. Luckily, there's a return leg for such games."
Benfica boss Rui Vitoria agreed his side may have been outplayed but had a more nuanced take on proceedings.
He saw much to praise in his team's plucky rearguard, not least the stout performance of goalkeeper Ederson, who did as much as Aubameyang to keep Dortmund off the scoresheet.
(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)
(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)
"It was a tasty victory for sure, speaking of justice after a game like this is tricky," he told UEFA.
"I agree that Dortmund is a strong opponent and that they had the best of this game. We lacked something in the defensive process during the first half, but changed at half-time. Besides that, we analysed that set pieces could be a way of hurting Dortmund and it worked.
"We fought, gave our best, and victories are also made of that. Congratulations to Ederson too, a keeper who showed his quality once again, this time against a team that scored so many goals in the group stage."