Axel Witsel had said that Atlético Madrid had to play as if there was no second leg and for much of a noisy night at the Metropolitano, it seemed his side might make good on that approach, effectively ending the tie here. Instead, having dominated the first half and taken a 2-0 lead, then defended it the way they used to, keeping Borussia Dortmund at a safe distance and creating chances to have scored a third, an 81st-minute goal from Sébastian Haller means everything is still in play in six days’ time.

It might have been even more on a knife edge too, Julian Brandt hitting the bar with the very last touch of a noisy night. Ultimately, Rodrigo De Paul and Samuel Lino’s goals were just enough, and when Diego Simeone comes to analyse this, he will at least take comfort from the fact that they have a lead.

The damage was done within half an hour, Dortmund unable to live with Atlético – or, it turned out, with their own self-destruction, the panic that set in as Simeone’s side came at them. Antoine Griezmann created the first chance for Álvaro Morata inside two minutes. On that occasion, Ian Maatsen slid in fast to make a superb interception, just as Morata steadied himself to shoot, but if the Dutch defender had come to the rescue of his team there, less than two minutes later he condemned them. Not that he was alone: their goalkeeper Gregor Kobel raising a hand to take his share of responsibility.

Kobel’s pass had put Maatsen under pressure, but the route he chose out of it was all wrong, the ball played blind and to De Paul, who took one touch to control and then guided it into the net with the outside of his foot. This place felt like it might come crumbling down; for a while, Dortmund did. Three minutes later, an outrageous backheeled volley from Witsel drew a superb save from Kobel – it might at least have settled him but did nothing to settle his teammates.

Atlético were first to every ball, quick into the space. On the left, Lino was enjoying running at them. Just inside him, Griezmann was running everything. Dortmund were overrun, seemingly terrified, moments of startlingly public weakness all too many.

One, involving Marcel Sabitzer and Maatsen, gave Griezmann a shot that was blocked, leading to a corner which ran through all of them.

These were not isolated moments: every time Atlético came near them, you could almost feel the fear, which explained Dortmund using possession not so much to attack as to try to take the threat from the game. When some neat footwork from Jadon Sancho forced a corner on half an hour, it was their first – it was also the first time they had advanced at all.

From the corner, Felix Nmecha leapt to head just over but the impact was soon gone. Exactly 60 seconds passed from that to Atlético doubling the lead.

Again, Dortmund did it to themselves, the second goal even more comic than the first. From a throw in, Mats Hummels and Nico Schlotterbeck got in each other’s way and lost the ball, leaving it in the worst possible place: at the feet of Griezmann. The Frenchman scooped a lovely pass to Lino to score. That was 8-1 in shots, 2-0 in goals.

Dortmund did react this time. Jan Oblak made a sharp save from Maatsen’s shot from the edge of area after Karim Adeyemi had run at them and, with Atlético properly exposed for the first time, Sancho smashed wide just before half-time, a hint at last that there could be a game here after all.

With Julian Brandt introduced at the start of the second half, it seemed there really might be. This was different now. Atlético’s intentions were too, forced back and focused more on protecting what they had, on defending – which they did better than Dortmund had.

This looked more like the Atlético of old, something they have struggled to be this season. Brandt curled a free-kick wide from 25 yards, which tended to be as near to goal as Atlético would let them get.

At the other end, meanwhile, there were moments when Atlético got much closer: first, a Marcos Llorente ball ran right across the six-yard box and then Lino couldn’t quite nudge a superb Griezmann free-kick over the line with Kobel recovering fast to make an exceptional save.

Next Llorente again reached the byline or perhaps even went beyond it, offered the chance to attack by yet more nervousness at the back. This time he stood up the cross for Lino to head wide. That might have been it, but less than a minute later, the entire tie turned. Two incisive passes did it, the second from Brandt finding Haller, via Nahuel Molina’s leaping and ultimately flawed attempt to clear.

Turning inside the area, the Ivorian struck beyond Oblak. Dortmund were alive; they were very nearly level soon after when Jamie Bynoe-Gittens’ shot thundered off the bar. Nor was that the end of it, Brandt’s header finding the same destination at the death. There will be a second leg in Dortmund next week, and it promises to be quite something between these two teams.