3-1 - Borussia win Revierderby - Aubameyang, Sahin and Kuba on target for BVB
Derby victory for Borussia Dortmund! The Black ´n´ Yellows won the 143rd Revierderby beating Schalke 04 3-1 (1-0) in Gelsenkirchen on Saturday to cement second place in the Bundesliga behind Bayern Munich and move 11 points clear of their arch-rivals. Kuba sealed the win scoring BVB´s third goal on 73 minutes.
Dennis-Julian Gottschlich reporting from Gelsenkirchen
BVB dominated the first half in front of a capacity crowd of 61,673 at Veltins Arena and took the lead after only 14 minutes through Aubameyang. However, the visitors had to thank their goalkeeper Weidenfeller for saving a penalty from Boateng (30 mins.) to ensure the scoreline remained 1-0 at half-time. Sahin doubled the lead for Borussia shortly after the interval. Meyer pulled one back for Schalke on 63 minutes before Kuba sealed victory for BVB 10 minutes later.
The Scenario:
Borussia Dortmund travelled to Gelsenkirchen sitting in second place - just a point behind leaders Bayern Munich - and winning back-to-back-games (1-0 against Hannover and 2-1 against Arsenal). Schalke went into this Bundesliga match having lost 3-0 against Chelsea in the Champions League in mid-week, already trailing Borussia by eight points in fifth place.
Personnel Matters:
With the exception of the injured Kehl, Piszczek und Gündogan, Jürgen Klopp had a full squad to choose from. Schalke also had some notable absentees in Farfan, Huntelaar, Höger and Papadopoulos, while Jones and Boateng, both rated doubtful before the game, were available, with Boatent playing from the start and Jones starting on the bench.
Tactics:
Borussia played in a classic 4-4-2 while Schalke opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Fuchs and Draxler playing on the midfield flanks and Boateng often taking up an attacking midfield role.
The Game & Analysis:
BVB began confidently and enjoyed more possession, while Schalke seemed content with keeping the ball in their half. With their fast transition game, Borussia asked questions of the Schalke defence from the start, with Aubameyang setting up the first opening of the game, but his fine cross into the centre didn´t find a teammate (7 mins.). Two minutes later, Reus tested Schalke keeper Hildebrand for the first time with a shot from 20 yards (9 mins.).
BVB continued to press forward and they were quickly rewarded for their efforts thanks to good determination from Grosskreutz. After winning the ball in midfield, the full-back stabbed it out to Mkhitaryan, and the Armenian midfielder then found a gap in the Schalke defence feeding the ball to Reus who laid it back to Aubameyang to tap home (14 mins.).
BVB remained the better side in the first half though they failed to make more of their chances. Aubameyang with a header (21 mins.), Reus (22) as well as Lewandowski and Aubameyang with a double chance (25) should have made it 2-0 but they were all denied by Hildebrand, Schalke´s best player on Saturday.
And at the other end, they were almost punished for missing their chances when Weidenfeller, after not having to make a single save in the opening 30 minutes, was suddenly forced into action. Following Schalke´s first meaningful attack of the game, Fuchs raced on into the area where he was brought down by Subotic with referee Kircher immediately pointing to the spot. Former Borusse and new signing Boateng stepped up, but Weidenfeller dived low to parry the shot to keep BVB´s lead intact.
Boateng had another good chance for Schalke to equalise moments later, but missed from 10 yards out (31 mins.). The last chance of the first half fell to Reus whose header was again saved by Hildebrand (33.).
Jürgen Klopp made one change at halftime, sending on Durm for Schmelzer. It didn´t disrupt BVB´s rhythm as the second half started as the first had ended with BVB dominating proceedings. And six minutes after the restart, they were finally rewarded for their dominance with a second goal. Mhkitaryan turned the ball on to Sahin who let fly from the edge of the box and the ball nestled in the top-right corner of the net (51 mins.).
Schalke then started to get a foot hold in the game and played with more purpose, pinning BVB back in their own half for a brief period. Schalke coach Keller brought on Meyer for Fuchs, and this substitution paid dividends a few minutes later. Meyer first set up Szalai, whose shot was saved Weidenfeller, but the ball fell back to the substitute who slotted home to make it 2-1 (63 mins.).
The home crowd finally came to life and roared their team forward. The game was now end to end, with Schalke pressing for the equaliser and BVB waiting for their chance to hit on the break and to put the game out of reach.
And the Black ´n´ Yellows managed to do just that. After Draxler lost the ball at the edge of BVB´s penalty area, Mhkitaryan ran virtually the full length of the field, shaking of four Schalke players in the process, before squaring the ball to the onrushing and completely unmarked Blaszczykowski who coolly slotted into the bottom right corner of the net to seal the win for the visitors (74 mins.).
Teams & Goals
Bundesliga, Matchday 10
FC SCHALKE 04 - BORUSSIA DORTMUND 1-3 (0-1)
Schalke 04: Hildebrand - Uchida, Höwedes, Matip, Kolasinac - Draxler, Neustädter, Aogo, Fuchs - Boateng, Szalai
Borussia Dortmund: Weidenfeller - Großkreutz, Subotic, Hummels, Schmelzer - Bender, Sahin - Aubameyang, Mkhitaryan, Reus - Lewandowski
Substitutions: 61. Meyer for Fuchs, 76. Jones for Kolasinac, 82. Clemens for Boateng - 46. Durm for Schmelzer, 71. Blaszczykowski for Aubameyang, 89. Hofmann for Reus
Goals: 0-1 Aubameyang (14., Reus), 0-2 Sahin (51., Mkhitaryan), 1-2 Meyer (62.), 1-3 Blaszczykowski (74., Mkhitaryan)
Corners: 2-2 (HT 1-0), Chances: 4-7 (2-5)
Referee: Kircher (Rottenburg), Yellow cards: Aogo, Szalai, Jones - Schmelzer
Attendance: 61,673 (sold-out), Weather: sunny, 19 degrees Celsius
Prospects:
Next week BVB get a chance to catch their breath a bit as their next game at home to VfB Stuttgart is not until Friday, 1 November (kick-off: 2030 CET).