Double pack of Guirassy
©IMAGO
BVB was behind twice against FC Barcelona, Serhou Guirassy equalized twice, but in the end Dortmund ended up with no points. VfB Stuttgart collected three important points in a convincing 5-1 win against BSC Young Boys and is back in the fight for progress in the Champions League.
Spectacle without a happy ending: Borussia Dortmund suffered a setback on its intended direct route to the round of 16 of the Champions League against Hansi Flick’s FC Barcelona. Coach Nuri Sahin’s team lost to the former national coach’s star ensemble in a thrilling game 2:3 (0:0). For injury-plagued BVB, it was the first defeat in the local football temple since April.
In the Dortmund stadium, which was sold out with 81,365 fans, Raphinha (53rd minute) and Ferran Torres (75th/85th) scored the goals for Barça. Guirassy’s brace to equalize twice (60th penalty/78th) was not enough for BVB.
Despite the defeat, the Revierklub, with twelve points and two games left, has a good chance of reaching the round of the best 16 teams without going through the playoffs. Borussia no longer has to worry about being eliminated in the league phase (see table).
Dortmund’s defense immediately came under pressure
Because of the failures of his central defenders Waldemar Anton and Niklas Süle, Sahin had to improvise in defense. Captain Emre Can defended alongside Nico Schlotterbeck in the middle. And the Dortmund defense was immediately challenged.
Barcelona combined quickly and precisely and created their first chances early on. Captain Raphinha narrowly missed after a sharp cross and should have scored after around a quarter of an hour. A dream pass from Spain’s wonder footballer Lamine Yamal found the Brazilian free in front of Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel. BVB was lucky that Raphinha narrowly missed.
The guests largely controlled the game and had clear advantages in midfield. Playmaker Julian Brandt, who was also injured, was sorely missed at the Revierclub with his ideas and overview.
Sabitzer has the first chance for Dortmund
Dortmund still had a great chance: Julien Duranville, who made his starting eleven debut for the BVB professionals, asserted himself strongly on the right side and played in front of the goal, where Marcel Sabitzer, however, did not aim precisely enough.
Dortmund got into the game a little better. Barça was still technically superior. But BVB now switched more quickly after winning the ball. Guirassy had a great opportunity to make it 1-0 shortly before half-time. However, the center forward shot hastily and missed the goal.
BVB counters Barcelona’s lead
Shortly after the break, Guirassy scored, but the goal didn’t count because provider Jamie Gittens was offside. Almost in return, the Flick team did better – even if it was very close again. Raphinha escaped the Dortmund defense after a through pass from former Leipzig player Dani Olmo and scored to make it 0-1. All the complaining didn’t help: the goal counted.
However, Dortmund reacted strongly. Barcelona’s Pau Cubarsí brought down Guirassy in the penalty area. The person who was fouled stepped up and scored to equalize. Even a second setback did not upset Dortmund. Guirassy countered Barcelona’s renewed lead with the frenetically celebrated 2-2. Shortly before the end, Torres silenced the Dortmund fans with his second goal. A header from Schlotterbeck (90+5), which twisted when landing, flew over the Spaniards’ goal. The BVB defender was apparently more seriously injured in the scene. He had to be carried off the field.
5:1 against Bern: Stuttgart back in the race
With a goal festival and the first Champions League home win in almost exactly 15 years, VfB Stuttgart has impressively returned to the race for the playoffs. The Swabian Bundesliga football team defeated the Swiss champions Young Boys Bern 5:1 (1:1) and significantly increased their chances of progressing before the remaining two match days of the league phase. Bern remains without a point in the current competition.
Three German national players scored for VfB, who first had to cope with an early setback in front of 60,000 spectators and then played themselves into a frenzy: Angelo Stiller (25th minute), Chris Führich (61st) and Josha Vagnoman (66th). 24th birthday. Enzo Millot (53rd) and Yannick Keitel (76th) were also successful for Stuttgart. Lukasz Lakomy initially gave the guests the lead (6th).
Emotions after death in the family of Bern professional
VfB coach Sebastian Hoeneß had asked his team for a reaction to the 5-1 defeat at Red Star Belgrade two weeks ago – and he got it. From the Swabians’ point of view, the evening started very poorly. Less than six minutes had been played when Lakomy scored with a shot from around 20 meters to give Bern the lead. Stuttgart’s national goalkeeper Alexander Nübel, who had already made a mistake in the league game against Union Berlin (3:2) last Friday, didn’t really look good.
Lakomy’s celebration was emotional: the midfielder held up a jersey from his teammate Meschack Elia, the rest of the team gathered next to and behind him. The Young Boys had announced before the game that a son of the Congolese striker had died unexpectedly after a short illness and that Elia had then left before the game. There was a minute’s silence before kick-off and both teams played with mourning ribbons.
VfB dominant, but initially imprecise
The Stuttgart team quickly took control after going behind and earned the equalizer through Stiller after a fine one-two with his national team colleague Vagnoman. In the first half, despite all their dominance, the hosts made too many inaccuracies. A much too imprecise pass from Atakan Karazor to Chris Führich in a very promising position was an example of this (36th).
The Stuttgart team, whose captain Karazor stayed in the dressing room during the break, also clearly dominated the game in the second half. The difference from the first half: They now acted much more precisely and decisively.
Confusion over Millot’s goal to make it 2-1
However, the 2-1 result was strange. After Rieder ran into the penalty area on the right side, the linesman raised the flag. The Bernese stopped playing and Millot scored with a low shot. A detailed video check showed that the ball had obviously not been out of bounds after all – the goal counted.
As a result, the guests literally fell apart. Führich scored with a remarkable shot into the right corner, Vagnoman after a cross from Millot. Keitel, who came on for Karazor, increased the score to 5-1 with a long-range shot. It was Stuttgart’s first home win in the premier class since the 3-1 win against Unirea Urziceni on December 9, 2009 – and what a win.