Borussia Dortmund got off to an extremely shaky start in the third matchday of the Bundesliga. Promoted team 1. FC Heidenheim initially had no chance at 2-2 (2-0) on Friday (September 1st, 2023) – then things got turbulent.
Julian Brandt (7th) and Emre Can from the penalty spot (15th) were successful for Dortmund early on. In the second half, VAR intervened several times in extremely tricky situations – and Eren Dinkçi (61st) and Tim Kleindienst (82nd) brought Heidenheim a deserved equalizer and Heidenheim’s historic first point in the Bundesliga.
Dortmund starts without a jug
Borussia coach Edin Terzic left Niclas Füllkrug, who joined BVB the day before, on the bench at the start of the game. The offensive of the hosts did not miss the new striker for the time being. Because with the first chance to score, Dortmund made it 1-0: Can let the ball jump to Brandt, who hit the crossbar from a half-right position while turning.
Brandt was also instrumental in creating the second goal. When the international wanted to pass Heidenheim’s Lennard Maloney, he extended his arm and stopped the Dortmund player illegally. According to the TV pictures, referee Tobias Reichel decided on a penalty kick, which Can shot safely and ripped into the goal. Donyell Malen could have raised several times before the half-time whistle, but was unlucky.
Heidenheim: Brave after the break and with great will
HDH coach Frank Schmidt brought in Marvin Pieringer in the second half, giving his team a lot of momentum. In the 49th minute, Tim Kleindienst missed the huge chance to score when he missed the ball and didn’t pose any unsolvable problems for Gregor Kobel’s shot. Then the climber cheered.
But in vain: Because after a goal by that Pieringer, the ball rolled into the Dortmund goal. But after checking several confusing situations, referee Reichel rightly decided to handball (49th) on the advice of the VAR. But that did not discourage the guests from Württemberg.
Because a quarter of an hour later – Marcel Sabitzer had meanwhile narrowly missed with a long-range shot – Marius Wolf made a capital play error in the game structure. Jan-Niklas Beste served Dinkçi, who overcame Kobel with a well-placed low shot next to the right post.
Penalty, no … yes! Compensation!
The hapless acting Karim Adeyemi left the field, a little later Sebastien Haller had to leave the field. But at that point there was total confusion. Because Haller had fouled Beste – but first the referees decided offside. Then came the filling jug – for Haller. And the VAR intervened because of the previous situation: Haller foul? New game situation?
Reichel and his video assistants had a long discussion on the field monitor and then decided to take a penalty kick. Kleindienst converted coolly into the middle and Haller, who was now on the bench, was subsequently given a yellow card for his foul. Compensation for Heidenheim!
Because of the frequent efforts of the video images, Reichel had twelve minutes replayed. Lukas Nmecha had the winning goal just before the end of the long stoppage time – but only hit the crossbar. 1. FC Heidenheim rocked Borussia Dortmund in the Hexenkessel Westfalenstadion – but the giant, which saw Sabitzer stand out in the Dortmund game, got away with a black eye.
BVB in Freiburg, Heidenheim against Werder
On the 4th match day of the Bundesliga, BVB will travel to Freiburg (Saturday, September 16, 2023 at 3:30 p.m.). Heidenheim welcomes Werder Bremen a day later (3:30 p.m.).