WWhat looked like an unproblematic success for Borussia Dortmund, fourth in the Bundesliga, after the comparatively early 2-0 thanks to goals from Donyell Malen and Jadon Sancho, turned into a Westphalian defensive battle after the red card against BVB midfielder Marcel Sabitzer shortly before the break. which BVB survived on Saturday evening in the Weserstadion with the necessary mentality and resilience.
After the change, Bremen, who were in ninth place, couldn't do more than make it 1-2 thanks to Justin Njinmah. In contrast, the Borussia team appeared to be prepared for the final spurt of the championship in terms of stamina. The success in Bremen was all the more serious because Dortmund still have a number of difficult games ahead of them in which the art of self-defense will also be in demand.
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Coach Edin Terzic said after the end of the game that his team had often practiced outnumbered situations recently. “That looked really good. The main thing was to defend while in possession of the ball.” The Borussia team did this convincingly. “We know that we can’t leave much behind if we want to achieve our goals,” said Terzic when looking at the next games with the Champions League test on Wednesday after the 1-1 draw in the first leg against PSV Eindhoven.
It was also the day of reunion with former Werder favorite Niclas Füllkrug, who is still highly regarded by Bremen fans. At the first leg in Dortmund, fans of the Green-Whites held up a banner with the inscription, “Thank you for your commitment, gap”, but the Füllkrug, who is sometimes called “fullness” and sometimes “gap” because of a missing tooth, did not see because it was required on the pitch during BVB's 1-0 win.
In Bremen, the officials of the traditional northern German club thanked everyone before the game with two farewell gifts, a photo collage and a Werder jacket for the club's 125th anniversary, which the Bundesliga top scorer last season with the minimum quota of 16 goals was delighted to accept.
Full sympathy
The Hanover native, a crusher with a heart, who moved to the major Westphalian club in the summer of 2023 after a total of eleven years on the Weser, enjoyed the moment of the sympathy he received from everyone.
From nostalgia back to the black and yellow reality: The result looked pretty rosy at halftime, as BVB led 2-0 with kind help from Bremen: through Malen's goal with a side kick (21st minute), which was scored by goalkeeper Zetterer Legs hissed, and Sancho's low shot into the right corner of the goal after a solo run past the overwhelmed Bremen central defender Malatini (38th). But, but: In the first minute of added time, the Austrian Marcel Sabitzer kicked the Achilles tendon of Mitchell Weiser, one of Bremen's particularly active players. A foul with consequences, as referee Aytekin simply pulled the red card out of his pocket and sent the Dortmund player off.
Ten against eleven: Now everyone from Borussia knew that the second half could be tough, especially since Bremen had missed a few opportunities in the first half due to Dortmund's negligence: especially through Ducksch, Füllkrug's former congenial attacking partner (8th), who was free in front of goalkeeper Kobel with a lob from a suspected offside position to the keeper, who had returned to his regular position after muscular problems, and Njinmah's shot against the side netting (29th). In addition, Kobel parried a shot from Ducksch in flight (44th). There were scenes in which the Dortmund defense revealed its weaknesses that were noticeable from time to time.
The question was how coach Edin Terzic would react to Sabitzer's dismissal. Mats Hummels, most recently a Dortmund reservist, was ready on the Dortmund bench after a tough few weeks. Dortmund's most experienced central defender also came into play as head defender from the 46th minute onwards – replacing the goalscorer Malen, who remained in the dressing room. The game, previously determined by BVB, now took a different course. Werder dominated and tried to use their superiority against Westphalia, who were now focused on defending from head to toe.
But Werder mostly stayed in search of resounding success and now had to deal again and again with the famous Kobel in the Dortmund goal, who is considered number one not only in his team but in the entire Bundesliga. In the 70th minute, however, Dortmund's defense made its only major blunder when Hummels missed Ducksch's pass, which left Schmid free and Njinmah had a clear path after Schmid's assist and had no trouble making it 1-2 with a low shot. Now things got really exciting, especially since a little later substitute Adeyemi was unable to take advantage of his opportunity to make it 1:3 in front of goalkeeper Zetterer.
There was no lack of drama after the break, but there was a lack of clarity in Bremen's power play. And so BVB self-sacrificingly defended their narrow lead and earned the valuable away win. Bremen Dortmund's Fulkrug rated his appearance as “certainly not a highlight game”. For this he praised BVB's team unity. “That was much more important” and ultimately crucial for success under difficult conditions.
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