63,812 fans, three BVB goals and three points!

Boris Rupert reports
The 63,812 fans in attendance – the only gaps were in the away section, which was at one-third capacity – didn't have to wait long for the first goal: Marco Reus scored after just 158 seconds. Shortly before the break, BVB twice missed the chance to double their lead, but soon after the restart, Erling Haaland converted a penalty to make it 2-0 on 54 minutes. Burkardt pulled one back for Mainz after 87 minutes, but Haaland hit back in injury time (90+4) to secure all three points for BVB.

The scenario:  

Borussia Dortmund had won every Bundesliga home game since April 18 (eight wins in a row). While the Black and Yellows were the only team in the league not to have dropped any points at home, Mainz had the ninth best away record with one win (in Hoffenheim) and two defeats. Of the 30 games against FSV, BVB had lost only five.

Personnel matters:  
Marco Rose was forced to improvise once again: he was missing three key players as Guerreiro, Dahoud and Reyna joined Zagadou, Morey, Moukoko, Schmelzer and Tigges on the treatment tables. Witsel returned to the bench after playing 180 minutes for Belgium, but Haaland was back in the starting line-up. There were three changes to the starting line-up from the match against Augsburg 14 days ago: Schulz, Can and Haaland started in place of Guerreiro, Witsel and Wolf.

Tactics:  
Against Mainz, who looked compact at the back, uncompromising and, except for one slip at the beginning, well-organised, BVB started in a 4-2-3-1 formation to gain a numerical advantage in the central midfield area. In the double pivot, Bellingham was more attack-minded than his partner, Can, who was increasingly involved in the build-up play. Without the ball – and this was the case over long periods – the away side operated in a 5-4-1 formation and defended deep in their own half.

The match & analysis:
BVB got off to a dream start: full-back Meunier broke through down the right after a one-two with Brandt. His cross was not dealt with convincingly and fell to Reus, who struck the ball into the top right-handed corner from inside the box after just 158 seconds.

In the opening fifteen minutes, Borussia put pressure on the Mainz defence, without creating any more clear-cut chances. Although the number of shots on goal dropped over time, Dortmund remained dominant, as clearly shown by the statistics in the middle of the first half: 82 percent possession, 67 percent duels won, 4-0 shots on goal. One of those shots had missed the goal only by a hair's breadth when Haaland had broken down the left and cut the ball back to Meunier on 22 minutes.

Immediately before the break, BVB went very close to scoring a second goal on two occasions. The first was Reus' free-kick cross, which would probably have gone in if it had not been for a Mainz defender who stuck out his leg at the last minute on 45 minutes, then Haaland was played in by Malen on the left of the box, but Zentner saved. Bellingham headed the rebound toward the goal, but Niakathé cleared off the line in the first minute of injury time in the first half.

The start of the second round was also eventful: first, Haaland knocked the ball past Widmer after a corner – more on that shortly – then Mainz countered at high speed. Onisiwo darted into the penalty area from the left-hand side, but before he got his shot off, Akanji slid in to knock the ball away on 50 minutes. Referee Schlager then received a signal from Cologne to have another look at the Haaland/Widmer incident. The ball had clearly struck the Swiss defender on his arm – handball! Haaland stepped up and converted the penalty to make it 2-0 after 54 minutes. Hummels hit the left-hand post from a corner on 66 minutes, and at the other end, Barreiro chipped the ball from the midfield into the path of Onisiwo, who lifted the ball over the out-rushing Kobel but also over the bar on 62 minutes.

Mainz switched to a back-four and pushed forward to pull one back: Kobel brilliantly blocked Boetius' disguised shot on 76 minutes – it was already the third chance for Mainz in the second half. Three minutes before the end of regulation time, the away side managed to pull one back: after a short goal-kick, the ball was immediately played back to Kobel, despite the presence of three Mainz attackers in close proximity. Under pressure, the goalkeeper didn't get the ball away far enough. After a flick-on, the ball fell to Burkardt, who reduced the deficit to 1-2.

Five (!) minutes of injury time were played. Bellingham intercepted a Mainz attack and played in Haaland, who fired home to make it 3-1 from just inside the box.

Outlook:  

The match against Mainz was the start of the busiest period of the first half of the season with seven (!) games in 22 days. Next up for BVB is the Champions League away match against Ajax in Amsterdam.

Team & goals