BVB draw 0-0 as resilient FCN rearguard holds firm

Boris Rupert reporting from Nuremberg

The 50,000 spectators at a sold-out Max-Morlock-Stadion witnessed a tense affair in which Dortmund struggled to pick holes in a compact Nuremberg rearguard – and on the rare occasions they did find a way through they were denied by FCN's outstanding shot-stopper Mathenia, who made five saves from Götze alone in the opening 53 minutes.

The scenario:  
This was to be the first time in Bundesliga history that 1. FC Nuremberg and Borussia Dortmund would meet while in last and first place respectively. Since the summer of 1992, FCN had only won one of their 29 league meetings with BVB – a 2-0 victory in November 2007. Borussia Dortmund were gunning for their seventh away win of the season.

Personnel matters: 
The Black & Yellows were without the quartet of Reus, Pulisic (both suffering from torn muscle fibres), Piszczek (foot) and Akanji (match fitness), although Weigl and Alcácer had recovered in time. There were four changes to the starting XI that played against Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Champions League last Wednesday, with Wolf, Weigl, Philipp and Guerreiro replacing Hakimi, Toprak, Dahoud (all substitutes) and Pulisic (injured).

Tactics:  
Having deployed a 4-3-3 system on their visit to London, BVB returned to their preferred 4-2-3-1 formation with Diallo continuing at left-back and Philipp in the "Reus role" behind Götze. Nuremberg, meanwhile, opted for a 4-5-1 formation whenever their visitors had possession. They fielded a five-man midfield – positioned just a few metres in front of the back four – in which the central trio of Löwen, Petrak and Behrens were given clear instructions to man-mark Guerreiro, Philipp and Sancho respectively. Zrelak was the loan frontman for the hosts.

The match & analysis:
Such was the dominance of the away side in the opening 45 minutes of the match that the groundsmen only needed to work on one half of the pitch at the half-time interval. With 82 percent possession in the first half – and 71 percent over the full 90 minutes – Borussia Dortmund dominated the ball but initially struggled to build a head of steam against a compact FCN side. In fact, it was the Franconians who had the first chance in the 28th minute when Bürki made an outstanding stop to deny a Behrens header following a rare foray forward.

BVB first came close in the 34th minute when Götze twice had shots on the turn saved by FCN gloveman Mathenia, and the frontman was again denied by the Nuremberg custodian 60 seconds later with a powerful drive from the edge of the box. On the stroke of half-time, Behrens turned Witsel's effort behind for a corner and Mathenia clawed a Götze header away from the corner (45).

It was a similar story after the interval with BVB pressing but rarely getting a sight of goal. One notable exception came in the 53rd minute when Sancho cut the ball back from the byline to the unmarked Götze, but Mathenia just about managed to put it behind for a corner. All in all, however, BVB were shorn of ideas, lacking the quick pass needed to break through the Nuremberg defence. Alcácer replaced Philipp on the hour mark but the Spaniard initially struggled to get into goalscoring positions, with his first opportunity a shot on the turn in the 86th minute that trickled centimetres wide. And when Bruun Larsen finally did put the Black & Yellows ahead in the 87th minute, the offside flag was raised.

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Outlook:
BVB are next in action when they host Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga on Sunday. That match at Signal Iduna Park kicks off at 18:00 CET.

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