Borussia Dortmund needed strong nerves and a little help at FC Copenhagen – but the result was right. In the Champions League, BVB remains on track after the 4:2 (1:1) away win.
Felix Nmecha gave the guests the lead with a dream goal (20th minute), the equalizer was also worth seeing, although not because of a strong individual performance, but because Waldemar Anton scored a strange own goal (31st). In the second half, Ramy Bensebaini (61’/foul penalty), Nmecha (76′) and Fabio Silva (87′) decided the game – BVB was just as lucky in these situations as they were when a penalty was missed after a possible foul on ex-Borussia player Youssoufa Moukoko (68′).
“It was a difficult game, we made it difficult for ourselves. But we had enough good moments to win the game. We are in the flow a bit and have the confidence that we can score a lot of goals.”said Nmecha. And sports director Sebastian Kehl said: “We didn’t do a few things well in the first half, that’s part of the truth. But this is the Champions League, it’s never as easy as it sometimes looks.”
One shot, one goal, Borussia
At the beginning it seemed as if BVB were quite surprised at how courageous and offensive the underdog from Denmark was. Copenhagen had their first good chance in the sixth minute, but Gregor Kobel was lucky that Viktor Claesson finished far too imprecisely from 14 meters and shot straight into the arms of the Dortmund goalkeeper. Several situations followed in which the hosts maneuvered their way through Borussia’s defense with great play, but in the end they were not precise enough.
However, BVB has a great strength, especially in the Champions League, and that is efficiency. Accordingly, coach Niko Kovac’s team only needed one action and a shot on goal to take the lead. Serhou Guirassy shielded the ball in the penalty area, passed it to Jobe Bellingham, who passed it on to Nmecha – and he slammed the ball into the net from 17 meters (20th).
After that, Dortmund had the game under control, Copenhagen could no longer get into the combination game. Opportunities were still in short supply, but Maximilian Beier had another one after Nmecha’s assist that had significantly more potential than what he made of it. The winger shot well in front of the goal (31′).
Moukoko turns it up and initiates the equalizer
After that the game turned around, which was mainly due to an actor with a special story. Youssoufa Moukoko was once celebrated in Dortmund as a talent of the century and also played 99 professional games for the club – but the club and player were not happy together. The striker now plays in Copenhagen and caused real problems for his former employer.
And so Moukoko’s feet played a huge role in the equalizer. After a corner the ball bounced to him, he shot straight away and forced Kobel to make a strong save. Bensebaini then tried to clear, but shot at Anton’s leg, who scored a slapstick own goal without any involvement of his own (33′). Shortly afterwards, Junnosuke Suzuki even missed a great chance to take the lead with a low shot (37th).
BVB in the penalty and Referee luck
Even after the break, Copenhagen were initially the better team, but then made a serious mistake. After a corner, Lukas Lerager unnecessarily tore Guirassy to the ground just in front of his own goal, resulting in a penalty. Since the striker had recently shown weaknesses from the spot, Bensebaini took over the job and completed it confidently to take the lead again (61′). “You need a can opener to give you a second breath”said Kovac on “DAZN”.
Shortly afterwards, Dortmund was in a lot of trouble again. Moukoko prevailed again, then tried to pass Bensebaini with a feint and was hit on the foot by his tackle – but there was no penalty (68th). Those responsible in Copenhagen were beside themselves, coach Jacob Neestrup received a yellow card for his protests, which were not unfounded.
Deflected Nmecha shot breaks Copenhagen
And then Dortmund’s efficiency struck again – and Nmecha again. The midfielder shot again from a distance, and BVB were lucky again because the shot, which was supposed to be easy to defend, was deflected so that it ended up in the net unstoppable (76th). It was the decision in favor of BVB. Because Copenhagen had already failed to get back on track after the missed penalty and couldn’t do it again after the 1:3.
BVB managed to react perfectly to the 2-1 defeat at FC Bayern Munich last weekend. After a similar strange scene to Anton’s own goal, Silva finished volley and benefited from the fact that Dominik Kotarski didn’t react well and couldn’t close his legs in time (87th).
With seven points from the first three games, each with four goals of their own, the Kovac team is well on the way to the knockout round, with the next win in the Bundesliga on Saturday evening against 1. FC Köln (6.30 p.m.). Copenhagen, who scored through Viktor Dadason (90th + 1), still only have the one point in the premier class from the opening game against Bayer Leverkusen (2:2).