EA dream start to the Bundesliga and Champions League seasons was recently followed by a Dortmund horror week with two shocking experiences. First there was the 0: 4 slap in the face that BVB caught on Tuesday at Ajax Amsterdam in the international competition, before, another precipitate, the Dortmund superstar and youthful hero Erling Haaland canceled the game for the next few weeks.
The Norwegian, who recently had a minor injury on his left thigh and therefore not featured in two league matches, suffered a hip flexor injury on the same thigh in Amsterdam, which resulted in a longer break from football. And yet the Bundesliga runners-up reacted very professionally to the tricky situation. He solved the compulsory task with the second last Arminia Bielefeld. And so coach Marco Rose was satisfied with the performance of his team after difficult days. “It was a good reaction and a deserved victory,” was his conclusion after passing the character test.
Who should now score the goals was the big question that BVB was able to solve for the time being. When Haaland had to pass for the first time this season, Dortmund lost 0-1 at Borussia Mönchengladbach and then won 2-1 at home against FC Augsburg. So now it was up to DSC Arminia Bielefeld, who was strong in the table and still without a win, who had no personal worries, while coach Marco Rose’s team, in addition to Haaland, briefly on the painful full-backs Meunier (bruised foot) and Schulz (torn muscle) in Amsterdam. had to do without.
Can, Hummels and Bellingham meet
“We have to tinker”, said the coach and tinkerer Rose before the trip to East Westphalia and nevertheless emphasized with confidence: “We still see the chance to win.” Anything else would have been strange for a team with title ambitions. And Rose’s team delivered on Saturday afternoon. With 3: 1 the victory after the hits from Can (31st minute by penalty kick), Hummels (45th) and Bellingham (72nd) as well as Klos by penalty kick (87th) was befitting.
The 18-year-old Englishman was not only happy about his goal that was worth seeing, he even found BVB’s reaction to the 4-0 draw in Amsterdam to be “almost perfect”. Bielefeld, on the other hand, are still longing for their first full success even after nine match days. “We want to get there as quickly as possible,” said Alessandro Schöpf, encouraging himself and his team so that the first three points will be due next Saturday at home against Mainz 05.
The fact that the boy wonder Haaland was missing was noticeable at all times, but at least the favorite’s game did not show a trace of self-indulgence. Borussia used two of them against Bielefeld, who were dangerous on the counterattack, and in which the former BVB junior Serra, who was still badly unfinished on the ball, missed the greatest opportunity in the duel with the slightly injured goalkeeper Kobel, who was replaced by Hitz in the second half (18th) few opportunities before the break.
On the one hand, when referee Brand granted them a penalty for a foul after a seemingly rule-compliant intervention by Brunner against Bellingham, which Can used to make it 1-0. Artistically valuable, however, was the 2-0, which Hummels scored shortly before the half-time whistle with a volley that was well worth seeing. “It was one of my nicer goals,” said the shooter, who had been suffering from knee problems for a long time, but: “Fortunately, the goal was scored independently of the knee.” The signals were early on for victory for the favorites in a duel, which also made the difference in quality of the two teams reflected.
Higher demands at BVB
The 25,000 or so spectators at the sold-out Bielefeld “Alm”, as far as Arminia fans were concerned, had to come to terms with the fourth defeat of the season early on. Initially, the black and yellow defended their lead routinely and could also rely on Hitz, who parried Wimmer’s shot (70th) fabulously. What the East Westphalia missed several times in this Westphalian derby, the Borussia showed them. They immediately refined their first bigger opportunity after the change with a hit when Bellingham let three Bielefeld defenders run into the air and then skillfully chipped the ball into the goal to make it 3-0.
The well-deserved Bielefeld goal was scored by substitute center forward Klos shortly before the final whistle after Hummels fouled Wimmer, who liked to go down. In the end it was a victory that was to be expected, but under the special circumstances it also indicated that the Dortmund team can fulfill their Bundesliga obligations under difficult conditions with a good competitive attitude and thus make higher demands.
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