Successful, but still without shine: Borussia Dortmund defeated Werder Bremen and consolidated second place in the Bundesliga. Coach Niko Kovac’s team clearly defeated the Hanseatic League 3-0 (1-0) thanks to two late goals. In front of 81,365 spectators, Nico Schlotterbeck (11th minute), Marcel Sabitzer (76th) and substitute Serhou Guirassy (83rd) scored the goals for BVB.
The three goals covered up a long-term poor performance by Dortmund, who were still unbeaten in the league at home. Guirassy also ended a personal negative streak. The attacker scored for the first time in the league since the end of October. “We had real problems in the first half, but played confidently in the second half. We’re on a good path, but not a perfect one,” said national player Schlotterbeck on Sky, “we really have to go a few steps further. At some point the decisive games will come, then you have to be there.”
Werder has now not won six competitive games in a row. Coach Horst Steffen’s team, whose game against TSG Hoffenheim last weekend was canceled due to weather, has to be careful not to slip into the fight against relegation after the unsuccessful start to the year.
In a nervous initial phase, the hosts visibly had trouble dealing with Bremen, who were running at a high pace. Dortmund made mistakes in the build-up game and were lucky that the Green-Whites didn’t take advantage of them. A corner gave us the lead out of nowhere. Schlotterbeck was surprisingly free to head the ball three meters in front of the Werder goal and didn’t miss this chance.
Whistles at break
But that didn’t give BVB any security. Njinmah had the chance to equalize from a suspected offside position, but Kobel failed again when he was free. Werder remained the better team afterwards, had more ball possession and won more duels. However, the guests made too many wrong decisions around the Dortmund penalty area.
The half-time whistle made it clear how dissatisfied the Dortmund fans were with their team’s performance despite being in the lead. They sent their players off to the dressing room with a loud whistle concert.
Sabitzer decides the game
After the break, BVB got into the game a little better. However, Dortmund still did not offer any exciting offensive football. However, the Westphalians made fewer inadequacies in their build-up play and had opportunities to extend their lead. However, with a triple chance, Maximilian Beier and Silva couldn’t get past Werder keeper Mio Backhaus and the visitors’ defense.
With a quarter of an hour to go, Sabitzer did better. The midfielder made the decision with a hard, well-placed shot. Substitute Guirassy even scored another goal.
