Clear away win
Led by a strong Marco Reus, Borussia Dortmund made amends and reduced the gap to leaders FC Bayern Munich to six points. The Dortmund captain scored two goals (18th/25th minute) for Borussia in the 3-0 (2-0) win at 1. FC Union Berlin, who, like the 2-5 defeat against Bayer Leverkusen, were without top striker Erling Haaland had to get by. Raphael Guerreiro made it 3-0 in the second half (71st). In front of 10,000 spectators, the Köpenickers were unable to extend their flawless record of two Bundesliga home wins against the second-placed team and slipped out of the Champions League ranks on the 22nd matchday.
With sunshine and a blue sky, significantly more fans were allowed in the Köpenicker stadium than last time. The mood was almost reminiscent of the time before the pandemic. Union supporters shot with a banner against the idea of master playoffs and Supercup games in Saudi Arabia.
Both teams had to make up for a loss from the previous weekend, especially BVB after a hefty home loss to Leverkusen. Dortmund’s coach Marco Rose relied on more defensive stability and offered the Belgian Axel Witsel as a second six alongside Mahmoud Dahoud. In addition, Manuel Akanji played a nominal central defender on the right back.
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Sports director Michael Zorc had demanded a different approach from the team and BVB showed that: In the decisive moments, the second in the table was wide awake and physically robust. After a rebound in the Berlin penalty area, Dahoud reacted quickly and played the ball into the path of captain Reus, who completed the 1-0 goal through the legs of Union keeper Andreas Luthe (18th minute). Seven minutes later, Reus was back with great commitment. After a long ball from Dan-Axel Zagadou, there was a duel between BVB attacker Donyell Malen and Union Bastian Oczipka. Both went down, Reus got the free ball, passed Luthe and pushed in. The 32-year-old’s first brace of the season.
The Berliners, who also had to switch five times due to several Corona cases, found it difficult from the start to deliver a game at the limit similar to the two previous Bundesliga home wins against Westphalia. Starting eleven debutant and newcomer Sven Michel could hardly show his move to the goal. Stressing the opponent, as coach Urs Fischer had wished before the game, rarely succeeded.
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After the break, however, Dortmund initially gave up the reins. Union got into the duels better and increased the pressure. But Grischa Prömel (47th) and Sven Michel (65th) clearly missed the goal. In the 71st minute, Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham tipped the ball into the middle just before the baseline. Luthe blocked Malen’s shot, but Guerreiro slotted it in. For BVB it was the 35th goal of the season in the second half of the game – a shared league high with FC Bayern. Union almost made it 1-3 with a nice header from substitute Kevin Möhwald. However, the goal was disallowed because of an elbow push by Anthony Ujah against Ankanji.
Enough in Koepenick! Victory, no goal. Pack 3 points in your suitcase and go back to Dortmund. BORUSSIA! pic.twitter.com/Gc8Ri30q2K
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) February 13, 2022
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