Finally! Football is back, and oh boy, had I forgotten just how tedious it can be to watch sometimes.
Tonight, Borussia Dortmund was visited by Daniel Thioune's Werder Bremen—a side that has been known to be extremely disciplined during the first 4 matches of the season. Die Werderaner gave The Black and Yellows a very tough time in the first half, staying put in a very low midblock, making it almost impossible to break through to goal. Whenever a chance fell to Dortmund, it was almost by coincidence. Maximilian Beier and Marcel Sabitzer had some half chances, but in the end, Kovac's side went into the break with an xG of just just 0.38.
In the 2nd half, Dortmund stepped it up just a little bit, and the resilient Bremen side started to show some cracks. Ethan Nwaneri in particular was very unfortunate to have an exeptional bicycle kick ruled out, as Christian Dingert had already blown the whistle as he hit the ball. Kovac introduced some energy with Silva, Karetsas and Veerman respectively, and it ultimately paid off, as Karetsas fired a long ball forward to Guirassy in the 80th minute. The Guinean international found Fabio Silva, who totally fumbled his finish, in the box. His mistimed shot on goal fortunately ended up being a pass to Svensson who had sneaked into the box. Just five minutes after, Schlotterbeck made it 2-0 through a well executed corner.
At the point, it looked like it might be over, but if we know one thing about games about Bremen, it is that they are never over. A misplaced pass from Schlotterbeck meant that Ludovit Reis could make it 2-1 in the 88th minute. And just when you might think that The Black and Yellows could pull through, Niclas Füllkrug of all people popped up and made it 2-2 from a free kick in the 92nd minute—anyone getting odd flashbacks here? Even though Dortmund defended well for 95 % of this match, it only took two lapses in concentration to throw away two valuable points. This is Dortmund – Bremen classic at this point, and I don't like it.
Here are my candidates for MOTM.
I think Daniel Svensson did many things right tonight. We all know that he's not necessarily the most explosive offensive player, but he still offered something when Dortmund had a hard time finding some passes onto goal. He was a the right place at the right time for the 1-0 goal. You could not have asked for too much more from him tonight.
From hero to zero. Schlotti scored a goal, and just a couple of minutes later, he misplaced the pass that resulted in Bremen's 2-1 goal. Goals aside, the German international defended well throughout the match, and he also had some decent moments going forward.
Every Dortmund player took some time to get going, but at the end of the 1st half, Sabitzer had many dangerous moments in front of goal. He ran a lot for the team as well, and I was honestly a bit surprised when he was pulled off.
I honestly think Gadou did everything right this game. None of the goals was his fault, and he managed basically every duel of his well. You simply forget that the Frenchman is only 19 years old. If he continues like this, Dortmund really has a diamond on their hands.
