Dortmund (dpa) – Finally football again, finally fun again – the end of his seven-week period of suffering lifted Erling Haaland’s spirits.
After the 1-0 (1-0) win over Arminia Bielefeld, the Dortmund striker, who had recovered from a muscle injury, hugged his team-mate Axel Witsel with a blissful smile. Although Haaland hardly appeared in his nearly 30-minute mission, the relief at the comeback outweighed it. The fact that Giovanni Reyna, the second returnee, also remained inconspicuous during his short assignment was not surprising for coach Marco Rose: “You could see that the seven or eight weeks did something to both of them,” said Rose.
Despite the clear need to catch up with the two offensive forces, they should significantly increase Borussia’s opportunities in the coming weeks. This signal comes at just the right time. After all, Dortmund, second in the table, could reduce the gap to leaders FC Bayern to four points with a win in the catch-up game on Wednesday (6.30 p.m.) at FSV Mainz 05 and would be back in the championship race. But Rose didn’t like to talk about this chance. “You always like to open the topic. I understand that and would like to be there. But that’s not our topic at the moment,” he replied to journalists’ questions about a possible catch-up race.
The football teacher referred to his team’s ups and downs this season with early knockouts in the international cup competitions and in the DFB Cup: “That’s what we have to deal with. The rest will come by itself.”
Comeback gives courage for the rest of the season
But Emre Can didn’t think the idea of being able to put pressure on FC Bayern, who had lost two wins recently, was not that far off the mark: “We have to try to step on the gas. Let’s see what it’s good for in the end,” said the international. but avoided a declaration of war in the direction of Munich: “We don’t have to look at Bayern. But we always dream. Hope dies last.”
Haaland and Reyna’s comeback gave more courage for the remaining nine games of the season than the appearance against Bielefeld. After all, Marius Wolf’s goal saved BVB from another setback in the 21st minute. And at least BVB, known for their shaky defence, once again kept a clean sheet.
The big tremors in the final phase against the brave Table 15, decimated by six Corona cases. but all Borussia would have loved to spare themselves. But in the end, a positive view of things prevailed. “It doesn’t always have to be a spectacle. Today we did our homework,” commented goal scorer Wolf on the DAZN streaming service.