Controversial BVB goal

©IMAGO

Borussia Dortmund won the explosive Western duel against Borussia Mönchengladbach without fanfare and sits second in the table, at least for the moment. Coach Niko Kovac’s team beat the Bas-Rhin team 2-0 (1-0) on the 116th day of the Dortmund club’s founding, even without highlights of the match. This victory should ease the previously tense situation at BVB just in time for Christmas. Dortmund had won just three of the previous nine competitive matches. Criticism regarding the team’s playing style is unlikely to be silenced.

In front of 81,365 spectators in the local (Site notre bureau spécialisé) temple, Julian Brandt scored the Revierklub’s goal in the 10th minute. Maximilian Beier (90+7) scored the final score in stoppage time. Gladbach, on the other hand, looked harmless in attack. Coach Eugen Polanski’s team wintered in mid-table with 16 points. For Brandt, it was the fourth goal in the last three home games.

For Dortmund, 32 points after 15 games is the best result in seven years. However, the gap with leader FC Bayern Munich could further increase to nine points on Sunday.

Kovac changed his team to five positions from the 1-1 draw at Freiburg last Sunday – also due to personnel problems. Brandt and Niklas Süle, among others, were new to the starting lineup. It paid off quickly. In co-production, the two men gave Dortmund the advantage. Süle crossed from the right to the far post, where Brandt scored at the first opportunity to make it 1-0 with a remarkable direct shot.

A controversial lead for BVB – there is no penalty whistle either

A fight between Gladbach’s Serhou Guirassy and Philipp Sander right in front of the goal sparked excitement. The Gladbach team is not the only one to complain about an unfair action by the BVB striker. “It’s clearly a mistake,” former international Shkodran Mustafi said on “Sky”. Referee Sven Jablonski saw things differently. Dortmund did not shine afterwards, but despite a surprising passivity, they kept the action away from their own goal for a long time. This is also due to the fact that the guests did not take advantage of promising transition situations.

The Gladbachers showed commitment, but played far too imprecisely to put Kovac’s team in difficulty. Had Gladbach goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas not reacted brilliantly to a huge chance from Karim Adeyemi, the score would have been 2-0 after half an hour. When Gladbach had their first chance to score shortly before halftime, Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel was there to beat Rocco Reitz. Shortly after the break, BVB fans celebrated the so-called preliminary decision. A headed goal from Guirassy did not count as the 29-year-old was previously offside.

The game has now become more hectic. Referee Jablonski showed yellow cards and was repeatedly involved in player discussions. Adeyemi was very upset after his substitution and had to be calmed down by BVB sporting director Sebastian Kehl. Then Jablonski let a foul on Beier, who replaced Adeyemi, go unpunished in the penalty area and, surprisingly, was not asked to provide video proof.

The Gladbachers struggled on the pitch, but continued to make poor decisions too often in the opponent’s half. BVB failed to calm the game and the nerves of its own fans with another goal. Wael Mohya, who had just been substituted, missed the equalizer almost out of nowhere. The 16-year-old failed because of Kobel. Thus, Dortmund trembled in stoppage time, where Beier, after an initially careless missed opportunity, let the black and yellows celebrate again after the strong Süle won the ball and a pass from Fábio Silva, who was also a substitute.