Match Report
BVB lose their way – and the game – after Guirassy's penalty
Boris Rupert reporting from Bologna
BVB made a strong start to what was an intensive encounter. But shortly after opening the scoring through Serhou Guirassy, who netted from the penalty spot in the 15th minute, they lost control of an opponent that grew increasingly stronger and turned the game on its head with two quickfire goals by Thijs Dallinga and Samuel Iling-Junior in the 71st and 72nd minutes.
The scenario:
The team in seventh place in Italy's Serie A played host to the 10th-placed side in Germany's Bundesliga. After two draws and four defeats, Bologna occupied 33rd place out of 36 participants in the league table. BVB went into the penultimate round of matches in the league phase in ninth place with 12 points on the board, one point behind third place. The top eight places qualify directly for the round of 16. Borussia have played 39 of their 305 European matches against opponents from Italy – more than against any other nation. They had never previously faced Bologna.
Personnel matters:
All the players were available with the exception of the injured Niklas Süle and the suspended Ramy Bensebaini. Compared to the match in Frankfurt, Maximilian Beier, Giovanni Reyna and Julien Duranville replaced Emre Can, Julian Brandt (both substitutes) and Bensebaini in the starting XI. Nico Schlotterbeck captained the team onto the pitch.
Tactics:
BVB returned to their 4-3-3 formation with Nmecha in the defensive midfield role behind Beier and Reyna, who occupied the two positions in attacking midfield. Duranville lined up down the right flank and Gittens down the left wing. During build-up play, it was a back three with Groß, Anton and – on the far left – Schlotterbeck. Bologna – in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Pobega breaking out of the double pivot in possession – played with a high back four and took an intensive, man-marking approach to pressing across the pitch.
The match & analysis:
Both teams looked to contest an open game, playing the ball quickly and vertically into attacking areas. The four-man BVB back-line was initially solid, played the opposition offside on several occasions and launched their first dangerous attack in the seventh minute only for Beier, who had broken through, to falter in the penalty area without any illegal interference from Lucumi.
BVB won a free-kick in a centre-right position in the vicinity of the box after 12 minutes. Groß whipped the ball in towards the back post and goalie Skorupski turned it behind for a corner. Off the ball, Holm had pulled Anton's shirt at length during this corner and referee Gözübüyük awarded a penalty, which Guirassy chipped home to make it 1-0 (15) and then ran over to Sahin to celebrate. Reyna went for goal from 20 metres shortly afterwards but Skorupski put his arms up and again cleared for a corner (17).
But Bologna subsequently seized control and posed problems for the Dortmund defence. After Ndoye had gotten the better of Ryerson, he played the ball to the left corner of the six-yard box, leaving Castro with a simple finish. But Duranville sprinted back and turned the ball behind for a corner (18). There were several dangerous moments in the box. Kobel prevented a possible equaliser against Orsolini (28), before Castro struck the side-netting four minutes later.
After opening the scoring, the Black & Yellows exercised barely any control over the game. Bologna had adapted to the long balls and were now winning the majority of the challenges that were being contested with great intensity by both sides, while BVB struggled to show composure after turning over possession – although they did not allow their hosts any goalscoring opportunities in the final 15 minutes of this fast-paced and intense first half either. The half-time whistle sounded with Bologna leading 9-2 in terms of shots but a scoreline of 1-0 to Dortmund.
Little changed after the restart. Dortmund battled and defended with passion but continued to lose the ball far too quickly after winning it back. And the through-balls up front were not weighted precisely enough, which made for a difficult evening for Duranville, Guirassy and Gittens. Sahin reacted with a double substitution around the hour mark – with Duranville and Reyna making way for Adeyemi and Can – and a change of system to a 4-2-3-1. Guirassy almost made it 2-0 shortly afterwards, in the 68th minute, after Skorupski had misjudged a corner-kick, but the forward's header flew narrowly over the crossbar. Just in a spell where an equaliser did not look like it was on the cards, BVB were caught out. The goalkeeper played the ball out to the left-back, who played a long ball down the line to Odgaard, who escaped from Anton and forced Schlotterbeck to let Dallinga go. The cross came in and the latter left Kobel with no chance from close range (71). Barely 60 seconds later, Anton misjudged the ball and although Dallinger was subsequently denied by Kobel, Iling-Junior slotted the ball over the line on the follow-up to make it 2-1. Shortly afterwards, Guirassy injured himself and was replaced by Brandt. But the Black & Yellows were not able to make an impact going forward.
Outlook:
The final matchday of the league phase will see BVB welcome Shakhtar Donetsk to SIGNAL IDUNA PARK next Wednesday (29/01) for their second home game in the space of five days. Werder Bremen will be the visitors this Saturday (kick-off 15:30 CET).
Teams & goals
UEFA Champions League Matchday 7
Tuesday 21 January 2025, 21:00 CET
FC BOLOGNA 2-1 (0-1) BORUSSIA DORTMUND
Bologna: Skorupski – Holm, Beukema, Lucumi (Casale, 64), Lykogiannis – Freuler (Odgaard, 46), Pobega (Moro, 87) – Orsolini (Iling-Junior, 35), Ferguson, Ndoye – Castro (Dallinga, 64)
Bor. Dortmund: Kobel – Groß (Couto, 75), Anton, Schlotterbeck, Ryerson – Nmecha – Beier, Reyna (Can, 64) – Duranville (Adeyemi, 64), Guirassy (Brandt, 75), Gittens
Substitutes: Bagnolini, Ravaglia, Erlic, Miranda, Posch, Fabbian, Urbanski – Meyer, Lotka, Sabitzer, Mané, Wätjen, Azhil, Campbell, Kabar
Goals: 0-1 Guirassy (penalty for foul on Anton by Holm, 15), 1-1 Dallinga (Odgaard, 71), 2:1 Iling-Junior (Dallinga, 72)
Corners: 6-4 (6-3 at half-time), chance ratio: 7-2 (4-2)
Referee: Gözübüyük (Netherlands), yellow cards: Holm, Freuler, Lucumi, Ferguson – Beier, Adeyemi, Couto, Ryerson
Attendance: around 35,000 (sold-out), weather: dry, four degrees