Match Report
Match report: Black & Yellows lose 5-1 in Stuttgart
Boris Rupert reporting from Stuttgart
In front of 60,000 spectators in the sold-out MHP Arena, VfB took the lead in the fourth minute through Undav and, after Demirovic added a second in the 21st minute, the home side came close to scoring a third goal on several occasions. It was only towards the end of the first half that the picture changed. Borussia fought their way back into the game with personnel and tactical changes, but conceded the third goal after a corner (Millot in the 62nd minute). And even Guirassys' goal to make it 3-1 in the 75th minute only weighed on the scoresheet for five minutes, as Touré soon netted to put Stuttgart 4-1 up. Undav then netted the final goal of the game in the 90th minute.
The scenario:
Last season's runners-up Stuttgart had started their campaign with one win (on Matchday 3 away to Gladbach), a draw (against Mainz) and a defeat (in the opener at Freiburg), while BVB were one of four teams still unbeaten (two wins, one draw). The previous 108 Bundesliga meetings between the two sides had witnessed 42 wins for VfB, 41 wins for BVB, and 25 draws.
Personnel matters:
Nuri Sahin had a full complement of players at his disposal, with the exception of the injured Giovanni Reyna. There were three changes to the starting XI four days on from the 3-0 Champions League win away to Club Brugge: Waldemar Anton, Felix Nmecha and Serhou Guirassy came into the side to replace Rami Bensebaini, Emre Can and Donyell Malen. Julian Brandt let the team out onto the pitch as captain.
Tactics:
Both teams were lined up in a 4-2-3-1 system. In defence, VfB shifted to a 3-3-4 formation with Millot, Demirovic, Leweling and Undav forming a four-man high press. Stuttgart were safe in possession and immediately looked to win the ball back when they lost it. For BVB, Ryerson was rarely able to cut loose from the right-back position and join the offensive midfield line of three. Stuttgart pressed very high, mainly on the left side, and thus pegged the Norwegian down to defensive duties.
The match & analysis:
BVB started well, with Brandt playing some clever passes into the spaces between the Stuttgart defensive lines. But instead it was the hosts who grabbed the early advantage. The Dortmund defence failed to deal with Mittelstadt's incisive pass into the path of Undav, who had emerged from a half-right position to run into space in behind. He took the ball in his stride and drove through on goal before firing the ball past Kobel and into the back of the net with the help of the far-post to make it 1-0 (4).
For the first time this season, Borussia found themselves down on the scoresheet. And they were struggling to cope under the intense pressure. Millot had a chance to quickly make it 2-0 with his head, but only just missed the target (16 ). Five minutes later, Demirovic made no such mistake. Again the attack was initiated down the left: Leweling skipped past his marker and slipped a pass inside to Mittelstädt, who quickly got his head up and lofted a cross towards Demirovic. The striker was left with acres of space in the box and finished calmly with his head to make it 2-0.
Some heroics from Kobel were then required to prevent the deficit from being even higher. First he saved Mittelstadt's long-range shot after a quickly taken corner and parried Undav's effort from the follow-up (24). The BVB keeper again had to have his wits about him in the 27th minute to deny Undav after Demirovic had picked him out with a long ball on the counter. BVB were then forced into making a change, bringing on Gittens for the injured Nmecha (30). Sabitzer dropped back to form a double pivot with Gross, with Adeyemi switching over to the right wing. The adjustment helped the Black & Yellows find their feet after conceding nine shots without mustering up a single effort of their own. That soon changed, however, as Süle headed just wide from a Gross free-kick in the 38th minute. In first-half injury time, Borussia could have pulled a goal back after a corner was cleared only as far as Gittens, but Nübel saved his shot to force the ball out for another corner.
Borussia came out of the dressing room with two new faces: Couto replaced Ryerson, with Bensebaini coming on for Adeyemi. The duo occupied the wide roles in a 3-5-2 system. With more width, the Black & Yellows sought to pull Stuttgart apart and work the spaces. The change in approach seemed to pay off. In the 51st minute, Bensebaini found Brandt in space, but his shot narrowly missed the mark after taking a slight deflection off the outstretched leg of a Stuttgart defender. But down the defensive end, the performance was still too lax. After a quickly-taken corner, Mittelstädt was given far too much time and space out wide. He delivered a ball to the far post, where Karazor headed back across goal towards Millot, who forced the ball over the line from close range to make it 3-0 (62).
Dortmund continued to struggle at the back, with several near misses in the penalty area. But the next goal came down the other end, as Guirassy applied the finishing touches to a counter-attacking move to pull the score back to 3-1. Gittens had zipped past a couple of defenders and played the ball onto the number nine, who outpaced Zagadou and drilled the ball through VfB goalkeeper Nübels' legs. There was still a quarter of an hour to play. But it was just too easy for the hosts going forward. After BVB conceded a cheap throw-in, Millot was allowed to skip past several challenges on the byline and cut the ball back to Touré, who had an easy finish to restore the three-goal cushion (80). Undav then put the icing on the cake for Stuttgart with a goal in the 90th minute.
Outlook:
The Black & Yellows now face back-to-back home games against VfL Bochum (Friday, 20:30 CEST) and Celtic (October 1, 21:00 CEST). The next Bundesliga away game is in two weeks' time at Union Berlin.
Teams & goals
Bundesliga, Matchday 4
VFB STUTTGART 5–1 (2-0) BORUSSIA DORTMUND
VfB Stuttgart: Nübel – Vagnoman (78, Touré), Rouault, Chabot (69, Zagadou), Mittelstädt (69, Chase) – Karazor, Stiller (84, Führich) – Millot, Leweling – Undav, Demirovic (69, Rieder)
Bor. Dortmund: Kobel – Ryerson (46, Couto), Anton, Süle, Schlotterbeck – Nmecha (30, Gittens), Gross (63, Malen) – Sabitzer, Brandt (72, Can), Adeyemi (46, Bensebaini) – Guirassy
Substitutes: Bredlow, Woltemade, Krätzig, Stenzel – Meyer, Beier, Duranville, Wätjen
Goals: 1-0 Undav (4, Mittelstädt), 2-0 Demirovic (21, Mittelstädt), 3-0 Millot (62, Karazor), 3-1 Guirassy (75, Gittens), 4-1 Touré (80, Millot), 5-1 Undav (90, Millot)
Corners: 6-4 (5-2 at half-time), chance ratio: 11-3 (6-1)
Referee: Badstübner (Nuremberg), bookings: Leweling – Can, Sabitzer
Zuschauer: 60.000 (ausverkauft), Wetter: heiter, 23 Grad