26th matchday
Dortmund (dpa) – Beaming, Erling Haaland hugged teammate Axel Witsel after three difficult Dortmund points on the comeback. BVB was relieved at the return of the Norwegian striker and the 1-0 (1-0) win over Arminia Bielefeld.
With the hard-earned success over the severely decimated Ostwestfalen, the Revierclub consolidated second place in the table and could reduce the gap to the leaders from Munich to four points with a win next Wednesday in the catch-up game at FSV Mainz 05.
Accompanied by the return of striker Haaland, who came on in the 63rd minute, after a seven-week forced break, Marius Wolf ensured Borussia’s deserved victory in the 21st minute in front of 33,000 spectators at Signal Iduna Park. “It doesn’t always have to be a spectacle. Today we did our homework,” said goal scorer Wolf on the DAZN streaming service.
Can: “We always dream”
Defensive stabilizer Emre Can added: “It wasn’t our best game, it was just important to win.” Can didn’t want to take a look at the table constellation. “We watch from game to game. We don’t have to look at Bayern,” he demanded – and then added: “We always dream.”
On the other hand, the Bielefeld team, who had to play without six professionals infected with the corona virus and also without coach Frank Kramer, are getting closer and closer to the relegation zone after the last three defeats in a row and are now in 15th place.
Borussia, which was badly battered in terms of personnel, was missing a total of nine professionals and had no match practice for two weeks after the game in Mainz was canceled due to the corona virus, had the chance to take the lead early on when Donyell Malen (8th) shot the post. However, she found it difficult to get into the game. Arminia, known for their defensive strength, initially caused problems for the favorites with robust defensive work and a respectable build-up game. With a shot by Masaya Okugawa (14th), the guests indicated a goal threat for the first time.
BVB takes control after the lead
But BVB’s first really effective combination put East Westphalia, who had been equal up to that point, behind. After an excellent pass from Jude Bellingham, Thorgan Harzard passed the ball directly to Wolf from the right wing, who sent the ball over the line from close range.
It was only with this lead that BVB took control of the game and pushed for the 2-0. Goal scorer Wolf forced the opposing goalkeeper Stefan Ortega to do a brilliant job with a low shot in the 30th minute. A few minutes later referee Bastian Dankert reversed a penalty decision in favor of Borussia after video evidence.
On the other hand, Arminia hardly appeared on the offensive until the break. Dortmund’s emergency defence, which lacked three regulars in Mats Hummels, Thomas Meunier and Raphael Guerreiro, remained stable.
Even after the restart, BVB seemed closer to a second goal than Bielefeld to equalization. Attacker Malen was unlucky again when he hit the crossbar with a brilliant shot (59th). With the substitution of the two convalescents Haaland and Giovanni Reyna in the 63rd minute, coach Marco Rose wanted to liven up his team’s offensive game again. But the hoped-for effect did not materialize. Against Arminia, who was now risking everything, the hosts had counter chances to make it 2-0, but they didn’t succeed.