Match Report
Beier and Guirassy fire BVB to 2-1 victory over Leipzig
Boris Rupert reporting
The 81,365 spectators at a sold-out SIGNAL IDUNA PARK saw BVB dominate the play and Leipzig score the first goal. Sesko put the visitors into the lead with their first shot at goal in the 27th minute, but Beier levelled the scores at 1-1 only three minutes later. Guirassy made it 2-1 and turned a passionately contested game around in the 65th minute.
The scenario:
Seventh versus second. BVB were the only club yet to drop a single point on home turf. Leipzig were unbeaten in 19 league matches stretching back into last season and had made their best start to a campaign by picking up 20 points from their first eight matches. The Black & Yellows had conceded fewer opposition chances and fewer shots than Leipzig, who nonetheless boasted the league's best defence.
Personnel matters:
The Black & Yellows were without the injured Anton, Adeyemi, Couto, Duranville. Kobel, Reyna, Ryerson and Süle plus the suspended Kabar. There were two changes to the starting line-up following the 130 minutes of cup action in total in Wolfsburg on Tuesday: Meyer and Sabitzer came in to replace Kobel and Malen. The bench consisted of only one established player (Malen), plus eight players from the U19s and U23s. Five of the nine substitutes had never played a Bundesliga game, while two of the nine had only made one appearance (Campbell and Azhil (for Leverkusen)).
Tactics:
Borussia Dortmund lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Groß at right-back and Can as the right-sided central defender like in the match away to Wolfsburg. The attacking midfield trio consisted of Gittens hugging the touchline on the left, while Beier on the opposite flank operated slightly more centrally. Leipzig lined up in a 4-4-2 formation off the ball and broke up the back four in build-up play. Right-back Henrichs then pushed into attacking midfield. Leipzig's full-backs switched flanks after approximately half an hour; it remained a 4-4-2 on the ball too and Henrichs played much more defensively.
The match & analysis:
The Black & Yellows had registered more shots (4-0) and almost 60% possession after 20 minutes: Borussia started dominantly, gave away nothing at the back and created two top chances going forward that could and perhaps should have been converted. Beier first met a Gittens cross with an unchallenged header on the edge of the six-yard box but nodded the ball two metres wide of the right post (10). And then four minutes later two Borussia players went clean through on the Leipzig goal. After Brandt had done everything right and played the ball to Gittens, the latter shot too centrally from 14 metres and Gulacsi made a comfortable save.
Instead, it was the visitors who took the lead with their first shot at goal. Openda cut the ball back from the left of the Dortmund box to Sesko, who hammered the ball under the crossbar from close range (27). Gittens could have equalised almost immediately. He surged into the box in a centre-left position following Klostermann's error and aimed a low and placed shot at the far corner but Gulacsi got his foot to it and turned it behind for a corner (29). Groß delivered it into the middle from the right, Nmecha headed goalbound and Beier got his foot to it and made it 1-1. The ninth of 09 shots was in! Given the shot count of 11-5 and the xG of 1.5-0.2, BVB not only deserved the 1-1 half-time scoreline but could be considered unlucky too.
Sabitzer, who had repeatedly gotten involved in the attacking play in the first half and left Nmecha alone on defensive midfield duties, continued to drive his team forward up until his injury-enforced substitution (67). BVB sent out a clear signal from the outset: they wanted more than only one point. But Gittens, who was operating in a centre-left role, was once again denied by Gulacsi. However, he had also begun his run from an offside position. Schlotterbeck got a shot away from a corner-kick shortly afterwards, but the Leipzig goalkeeper made another save (60). By the hour mark, Gittens had registered six shots – more attempts at goal than the entire Leipzig team put together (five).
SIGNAL IDUNA PARK exploded after 64 minutes. After Orban had cleared with Brandt lurking, Beier followed up and crossed from the right flank into the middle, where Guirassy asserted himself against two Leipzig players and headed home for 2-1. The visitors now shifted their play forwards. Following a strong piece of link-up play with Kampl, Elmas got a shot away from a centre-right position in the box, only for Bensebaini to intervene on the line (71). Brandt was then immediately denied by the strong Gulacsi following a Gittens cross (72) and Beier fired Nmecha's pass wide of the target from a centre-right position in the box (74).
BVB subsequently defended with skill and switched the play into the visitors' half. Seven additional minutes were added, in which Schlotterbeck thwarted the only moment of danger (90+5).
Outlook:
BVB will host Austrian champions Sturm Graz in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday (kick-off at 21:00 CEST, tickets still available). The Bundesliga away match against 1. FSV Mainz 05 will then be on the agenda before the international break (9/11 at 15:30 CEST).
Teams & goals
Bundesliga Matchday 9
BORUSSIA DORTMUND 2-1 (1-1) LEIPZIG
Bor. Dortmund: Meyer – Groß, Can, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini – Sabitzer (Azhil, 67), Nmecha – Beier (Campbell, 90+4), Brandt, Gittens (Malen, 79) – Guirassy
Leipzig: Gulacsi – Henrichs (Bitshiabu, 70), Klostermann, Orban, Geertruida – Haidara (Kampl, 64), Vermeeren – Baumgartner (Elmas, 64), Nusa (Ouedraogo, 82) – Openda, Sesko (Poulsen, 70)
Substitutes: Lotka, Paulina, Elongo Yombo, Mané, Jessen, Lührs – Vandevoordt, Zingerle, Seiwald, Silva
Goals: 0-1 Sesko (Openda, 27), 1-1 Beier (Nmecha, 30), 2-1 Guirassy (Beier, 65)
Corners: 4-0 (2-0 at half-time), chance ratio: 9-2 (4-1)
Referee: Stieler (Hamburg), yellow cards: Beier, Bensebaini, Azhil – Baumgartner, Henrichs, Geertruida, Kampl
Attendance: 81,365 (sold-out), weather: dry, 6 degrees