“Now there are exactly five steps left” – Dortmund uses the great opportunity mercilessly
A week ago, BVB lost important points in the majority in Stuttgart. Now the club is taking advantage of FC Bayern’s previous bankruptcy and has chosen itself as the new table leader.
Dhe fans of Borussia Dortmund already euphorically celebrated their players as the new German champions, even if BVB – for the time being – only took the lead in the table. With a big grin, coach Edin Terzic high-fived his pros in the rain, the 4-0 (3-0) win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday night was the title sign at the right time after the embarrassing performance a week ago in Stuttgart (3-3). BVB goes into the remaining five matchdays of the Bundesliga with a point ahead of the stumbling FC Bayern.
“I’ve seen a lot of things that I’ve seen very often from this team,” said sports director Sebastian Kehl on Sky. “Compliment. This win today feels very, very good. That’s how we have to play if we want to be up front in the end.” The table currently looks “very good”. Thanks to goals from Jude Bellingham (19′), Donyell Malen (24’/66′) and Mats Hummels (41′) in front of 81,365 spectators, there was a lively atmosphere at the sold-out Signal Iduna Park.
Dortmund’s fans celebrate the new leaders
What: AFP
In contrast, the downward trend in Eintracht continues. After eight games without a win, the Hessians’ chances of returning to Europe via the league have fallen further. Especially in the second half, the cup semi-finalists remained far below their potential.
Bayern’s 3-1 defeat in Mainz a few hours earlier created great expectations in the stands. And BVB quickly created a great atmosphere. After a cautious start to the game with slight field advantages but no chances to score in the first 15 minutes, BVB used their first two chances to take a 2-0 lead. A remarkable combination of Raphael Guerreiro and Julian Brandt was refined by the English international Bellingham with a well-placed low shot into the right corner to make it 1-0.
Many goal area scenes
This hit broke the reluctance. From then on, both teams delivered a worth seeing and open exchange of blows with plenty of goal area scenes. Just five minutes after taking the lead, Dortmund had reason to celebrate again. After a header from Karim Adeyemi, Malen was there from close range and scored in the fifth game in a row.
Eintracht responded with furious attacks and came close to scoring a goal from a shot by Randal Kolo Muani (26′) and a header from Aurelio Buta (34′), but was denied by BVB keeper Gregor Kobel. And had the misfortune that the opponent continued to be very effective. After Adeyemi (31′) missed a big chance, central defender Hummels scored the next blow against Eintracht in the middle of the pressure phase in Frankfurt. The 2014 world champion headed a cross from Guerreiro into the net and gave BVB a 3-0 lead before the break.
Terzic’s bill
Feeling that they were in the lead, BVB took it easy after the restart, but retained control of the game. Against Eintracht, which was now more passive, it was enough for Dortmund to keep the ball in their own ranks for a long time and to consistently secure their own goal. However, they again capitalized on the speed of Adeyemi and Malen. Malen used Adeyemi’s pass to score his second goal. This finally broke the resistance of the Hessians.
Afterwards, BVB coach Terzic was pleased. “We supported each other in all phases of the game. After the lead, you noticed that things got a little easier,” he said. “And then we had enough warning from last week about what shouldn’t happen in the second half. We pulled through today and made a really great step, but nothing more than that.”
Unlike last week, when BVB negligently lost a 2-0 and 3-2 lead in the majority, the new leader was wide awake after the change. “Now there are exactly five steps left. And today was a really good step in the right direction,” said Terzic.