Borussia Dortmund and the Champions League – it just fits. In the 4-0 (1-0) win against FC Villarreal, relatively little was enough for a lot for BVB. The performance was manageable for a long time, but not only with the goals from Serhou Guirassy (45th + 2 and 54th minute), Karim Adeyemi (58th) and Daniel Svensson (90th + 5th), almost everything went well for coach Niko Kovac’s team.
There were a lot of things wrong with BVB before the game. In addition to the stressful issues surrounding Adeyemi (penalty warrant for illegal possession of weapons) and Hans-Joachim Watzke (elected president with only 59 percent without an opposing candidate), things had not gone well in terms of sport recently, there had been no victory in the previous three competitive games and, especially against VfB Stuttgart, there were once again lost points in the final phase. Against Villarreal, the team was even more in demand for the benefit of the club.
Good start in Dortmund, but then almost nothing works
Niko Kovac’s team’s willingness to implement this was evident right from the start. They played courageously and offensively, but had no means against the compact defense of the Spaniards, who had only conceded two goals in the last six competitive games. Villarreal provided the most exciting moment of the opening phase when Tajon Buchanan scored, although he had previously been offside (11th).
BVB lacked the pace or made things too complicated for themselves in the narrow spaces. And the rare simplicity didn’t work either, in the 23rd minute Marcel Sabitzer had the first shot on goal from 30 meters – who had no chance of scoring. However, Dortmund were lucky that Buchanan once again completed a good counterattack from 14 meters in a completely hasty manner (28′) and Pape Gueye shot over just as freely after a free kick variant from a similar distance (31′).
Guirassy’s moment of happiness out of nowhere
As the first half progressed, BVB became more and more disappointed, appeared sluggish and very tense, and the players made many unnecessary mistakes. And yet Dortmund went back to the dressing room with a moment of celebration, because after a corner, Guirassy scored the flattering 1-0 (45th + 2) with a header after the ball had happily come to him. As is often the case when things don’t go well, a stationary ball helped.
The lucky lead fit into the overall picture of the Champions League season so far, as BVB had been incredibly efficient in front of the opponent’s goal throughout the group phase. That was also the case in the first 45 minutes against Villarreal, given the very poor offensive power. But Kovac’s reaction showed that that wasn’t enough to be too satisfied, as he noticed the goal on the sideline with no emotion.
A counterattack solves many problems for BVB
But there were great emotions in the 50th minute. Dortmund countered really strongly for the first time, Felix Nmecha’s great chance was initially blocked, then Adeyemi came up with a follow-up shot, which defender Juan Foyth fended off with his upper arm on the line – there was a penalty and a yellow card. And referee Davide Massa even corrected this assessment, he rightly gave the Argentine red.
“The red card was good for us. We came out of half-time better, that was important. In general we hardly allowed anything and in the second half we were really good.”said Nico Schlotterbeck after the game on “PrimeVideo”.
Because neither Ramy Bensebaini nor Emre Can were on the pitch, Guirassy was once again allowed to take over the job from the spot – and he solved the task by hanging and choking. The striker missed the penalty extremely poorly, but the ball came back to him from Luiz Junior’s feet, so Guirassy was able to make it 2-0 (54′). However, this was probably not an application for future penalties, which the 29-year-old had already fought in vain on the pitch for.
Adeyemi’s goal as a symbol of a Dortmund evening
The 1-0 in stoppage time of the first half, the 2-0 at the start of the second half, plus the majority – it was quickly forgotten that Dortmund had actually played a weak game. And it remained the case that somehow everything went for BVB, so the 3-0 win was also great luck. Thomas Partey shot Adeyemi in the knee while trying to clear the ball, from where the ball bounced into the goal (58′).
As happy as it was, the events of the first hour obviously gave the Dortmund professionals back their self-confidence, because after the hat-trick they played much better football and appeared dominant. The joy of playing was back, the creativity and also the willingness to offer options to those in possession of the ball. BVB controlled the game confidently and no longer had the urge to score any more goals.
Important double against Bayer Leverkusen
It was also a matter of managing one’s strengths, because given the clear situation in the game, it was understandable to focus on the very important tasks ahead. Because Dortmund is facing a groundbreaking “doubleheader” against Bayer Leverkusen (won at Manchester City at the same time). In the league, the two teams that want to qualify for the Champions League again will meet on Saturday (6:30 p.m.) in the BayArena, and three days later in the round of 16 of the DFB Cup in the Westfalenstadion (9 p.m., live on ARD and in the stream on sportschau.de).
BVB goes into the Leverkusen double with a clear victory in the Champions League behind them, which was even clearer – although Fabio Silva hit another penalty against the crossbar (82nd). A few seconds before the final whistle, Svensson headed from close range to make the final score (90+5). And with this victory, Dortmund have come a lot closer to the knockout round with ten points after five of eight group games.