With a 2-1 (2-0) win at Werder Bremen, Borussia Dortmund continues to keep RB Leipzig at bay in the fight for fourth place in the Bundesliga.
Donyell Malen scored with a goal (21st) and Jadon Sancho after a fine solo (38th) for the ailing Borussia in the away win at the Weserstadion on Saturday (March 9th, 2024). After a red card against Marcel Sabitzer (45th + 1) for a foul on Mitchell Weiser, BVB played the entire second half outnumbered. Justin Njinmah (70th) brought Bremen close. But Dortmund kept their narrow lead despite being outnumbered.
Borussia coach Edin Terzic described the victory to the Sportschau as “extremely important” and said: “We very much deserved to win.” 47 points mean Dortmund remains in fourth place ahead of Leipzig (46). After a good phase at the start of the year, Werder have only picked up one point from their last three games and are in ninth place with 30 points.
Janna Betten, sports show, March 9, 2024 9:08 p.m
Dortmund controlled and effective
Even though Bremen certainly looked for opportunities going forward, Dortmund controlled the game from the start with the returnees Gregor Kobel and Malen in the starting line-up. The guests patiently let the ball run, waiting for the moment to go deeper. It only came after almost 20 minutes, but it gave us the lead straight away. Julian Brandt took off on the half-right and shot from 20 meters. Michael Zetterer punched the ball aside. Malen stood there and hit Zetterer’s legs with a side kick.
Brandt was also involved in the second goal. After winning the ball following a Bremen corner, Brandt accelerated through the center and passed to Sancho on the left. After a short delay, he picked up the pace against Julian Malatini and put the ball past Zetterer in the near corner.
Bremen is not nearly compelling enough
Werder tried hard. The Hanseatic team came into their own especially after corners or free kicks – such as after an attempt by Ducksch from half-left (43′). But Dortmund defended the scenes consistently, or the returnee Kobel was there in goal.
Then BVB had to change their plan. Sabitzer was shown a red card shortly before half-time for following up from behind against Weiser (45.+1). Terzic brought on Mats Hummels for goalscorer Malen and Dortmund played with a five-man chain. Bremen sensed their chance.
Kobel on the spot
The first minutes after the break belonged to Werder. Njinmah narrowly missed a shot (53′). Kobel cleared a Lynen shot (58th) from half-right in the near corner. Dortmund played a waiting game, Bremen often lacked the necessary pace to put the pressure on. But then the hosts got their moment: Ducksch broke the defense with a single deep pass from the left. Romano Schmid escaped to the left of the penalty area, fed Njinmah and he only had to push in the middle to make it 1-2.
That brought fire into the game. Bremen wanted more, Dortmund was waiting for a counterattack. During a counter move, substitute Karim Adeyemi promptly appeared free in front of the Werder goal, but was denied by Zetterer (72′). Weiser then had the chance to equalize for Bremen from ten meters (79′), but Nico Schlotterbeck blocked for a corner. It remained exciting, but at 1:2.
Borussia Dortmund first hosts PSV Eindhoven in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 on Wednesday (9 p.m.) (first leg 1-1), before Eintracht Frankfurt is the next Bundesliga opponent in the Westfalenstadion on Sunday evening (5:30 p.m.). Bremen will play at 1. FC Union Berlin next Saturday (March 16, 2024, 3:30 p.m.).