Kagawa secures victory for BVB in open affair with HSV

Boris Rupert reporting from Signal Iduna Park

The 81,360 fans at a sold-out Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund saw an open game with chances at both ends. Castro put the Black and Yellows in front when he scored from a direct free-kick in the 13th minute, but they subsequently squandered a series of chances to double their advantage, and it was not until goals from Kagawa and Aubameyang in the 81st minute and stoppage time respectively that the victory over a strong HSV side was sealed.

The scenario: 
Ten places and 17 points separated fourth-placed Borussia Dortmund and 14th-placed Hamburg before kick-off, although both teams had picked up the same amount of points (17) since the winter break – a tally bettered only by Bayern, who had amassed 23 since the restart.

Personnel matters: 
The Black and Yellows were without Schmelzer (back), Sokratis (suspended), Schürrle (ankle), Durm (muscular problems), Reus (fitness following fibre tear), Götze (metabolic disorder) and Rode (fitness training following groin operation) for this one. For the Northeners, defenders Padadopoulos and Djourou were ruled out at short notice. They joined Jung and Müller, who are suffering from muscular problems and a torn lateral collateral ligament respectively, in the treatment room. Midfielder Ekdal covered at centre-back.

Tactics: 
Borussia Dortmund, lining up in a 4-1-4-1 formation with Weigl as the sole defensive midfielder, tried to make use of their width and get the ball to the flanks, where Dembélé and Piszczek were doubled up on the right –  the former several metres ahead of the latter – and Mor and Guerreiro teamed up down the left. The men from Hamburg took to the field in a 4-3-3 system, with Gregoritsch, Wood and Kostic as the front three; Wallace, Holtby and Sakai forming the midfield trio; and a back four of Diekmeier, Ekdal, Mavraj and Ostrzolek. Upon winning possession, they played the ball forward directly and looked to hit the hosts on the counter. On the rare occasions HSV opted to build up more slowly, they did so in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

The match & analysis:
It was a highly spectacular match with chances at both ends, the hosts looking for that all-important breakthrough to get their noses in front while the Northeners consistently looked dangerous from long balls. Shot-stoppers René Adler (two) and Roman Bürki (one) denied three clear-cut goalscoring opportunities in the first half an hour alone.

Borussia Dortmund's first shooting opportunity came after just 115 seconds when Guerreiro hit the side-netting from a wide angle, giving an early indication of the offensive role the full-backs would have to play. A matter of minutes later, Weigl laid in the unmarked Aubameyang but the Gabonese forward was denied by the knee of HSV custodian Adler, who then saved a Dembélé effort from a narrow angle (11). But the breakthrough finally came when Mor was felled by Ekdal, who was cautioned for the offence, 20 metres from goal two minutes later. It was Castro who stepped up to take the free-kick, curling it around the wall and into the far corner to put the hosts ahead.

However, the Hamburg goalkeeper more than atoned for his poor positioning in the 27th minute when he put his body on the line to save Aubameyang's effort from 13 metres after the striker had been brilliantly set up by Kagawa. 

Aubameyang denied five times by Adler

At the other end Wood had been clean through on goal in the 10th minute but Bürki refused to commit and came out on top in a one-on-one that could have easily put the visitors ahead. A quarter of an hour later Piszczek made a last-gasp clearance to deny the American, who then almost levelled the scores at 1-1 with a 38th minute header.

Though BVB dominated with 65 percent possession before the interval, HSV consistently looked dangerous and even had more shots (7-6) than their superior hosts. Nonetheless, they owed a great debt to Adler, who made a string of saves – including denying Aubameyang from a header on the stroke of half-time (43) – to keep the score at 1-0.

The second half began much as the first ended with Adler making another save – this time to thwart a Guerreiro effort that seemed destined to hit the back of the net – after Kagawa had failed to get on the end of Aubameyang's headed flick-on (50). The Japan international then had an effort blocked from close range (56) before playing in Dembélé, whose hesitation proved costly as the ball was cleared away for a corner by a Hamburg player (58). Two minutes later, Mor Cut in and drilled inches wide from 16 metres (60). A BVB goal was long overdue, but the finishing needed to be better.

Yet it was almost 1-1 – rather than 2-0 or 3-0 – shortly after the hour mark, when Wood fired narrowly wide in the 64th minute before a curling effort from Kostic landed on the roof of the net 60 seconds later.

Hosts double advantage with chance 12

What this fixture – historically the highest-scoring in the Bundesliga – was lacking in goals it more than made up for in end-to-end excitement: Kagawa shot narrowly wide of the left post after being played in by Aubameyang (73), then Kostic was denied by Bürki at the other end (74) before an Aubameyang effort was kept out by Adler (76).

But then came the second goal, a move which started when substitute Passlack headed the ball from deep in his own half to Aubameyang, who sprinted forward at speed and shrugged off Ekdal before cutting into the box from the left and squaring the ball across the face of goal to leave Kagawa with a tap-in from the edge of the six yard box. 2-0 in the 81st minute!

With the match in stoppage time, Aubameyang finally got on the scoresheet, adding a third after receiving the ball from Kagawa. It was to be the final action of the night.

Prospects:  
On Saturday (18:30 CET) BVB will head to Munich to face FC Bayern. That top-of-the-table clash will be followed by two home games in the space of a week: the first against Monaco in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals at 20:45 CET on Tuesday, the second a Bundesliga meeting with Eintracht Frankfurt at 15:30 CET on Saturday.

Teams & goals