Bundesliga
BVB win 3-1 courtesy of Reus, Sokratis and "Auba" strikes
Borussia Dortmund extended their unbeaten home run to 35 Bundesliga matches with a 3-1 (2-1) victory over Eintracht Frankfurt following a particularly entertaining first-half battle at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK.
Dennis-Julian Gottschlich reporting
The 81,360 fans in attendance on Saturday afternoon were treated to three outstanding goals, an extremely fast-paced, entertaining encounter and a Marco Reus comeback that could hardly have got off to a better start. It was the returning midfielder who broke the deadlock for the hosts when he backheeled into the net after just 120 seconds. Fabián restored parity on the half-hour mark with a piledriver from 22 metres, but Sokratis produced an equally spectacular long-range strike five minutes later to nudge the hosts in front again (34). The tempo dropped slightly after the interval, but Aubameyang managed to add a third four minutes from time with a chip over Hradecky (86).
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The scenario:
Borussia Dortmund went into Matchday 29 trailing third-placed TSG Hoffenheim by one point. Eintracht, meanwhile, were in free fall, having dropped down from third to ninth after failing to win their previous nine matches. Historically, the Black and Yellows have more victories over Frankfurt (41) than they do against any other team.
Personnel matters:
Borussia were without Bartra (suspended, hand operation), Durm (muscle injury), Götze (metabolic disorder), Schürrle (Achilles tendon) and Rode (muscular problems), while Eintracht were shorn of the services of Anderson (rehabilitation following knee operation), Regäsel (fitness following hip operation), Hasebe (knee operation), Medojevic (rehabilitation), Meier (heel problems) and Tawatha (ankle). Thomas Tuchel made three changes to the starting XI that faced Monaco in midweek, with Reus – returning to action following six weeks on the sidelines injured – Pulisic and Sahin being drafted in at the expense of Ginter, Guerreiro and Dembélé, who all dropped to the bench, while Isak was included in the squad for the first time.
Tactics:
Borussia lined up in a 4-3-3 formation with defensive midfielder Weigl flanked by Kagawa and Sahin, though the Japan international occupied a much more advanced role than the Turk, who at times dropped deep and looked to build from the back. Pulisic (right) and Reus occupied the wing berths, with Aubameyang spearheading the attack. Frankfurt defended very compactly in a 5-4-1 system, in which full-backs Chandler and Oczipka moved forward into midfield when the visitors had the ball, with Wolf and Fabian supporting Hrgota as the lone frontman.
The match & analysis:
Few Bundesliga players have made a better comeback from injury than Marco Reus did today. Precisely 120 seconds had elapsed at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK when the BVB captain wheeled away towards the North Stand in celebration after scoring a dream goal to get the hosts off to a dream start. Pulisic was instrumental in setting it up, playing a one-two with Aubameyang before beating Frankfurt shot-stopper Hradecky to the ball and squaring across the face of goal, where Reus was waiting to backheel home from four metres out.
The Black and Yellows continued to cause the visitors problems with their extremely fast-paced and direct play, though Frankfurt repeatedly managed to clear the ball from dangerous positions. Schmelzer (11), Reus (12) and Pulisic (14) all failed to pick out Aubameyang with crosses in close succession, before Hradecky made strong saves from Reus and Kagawa in the penalty area (19). Frankfurt had earlier come close to falling two goals behind when Valejo almost steered the ball into his own net in an attempt to get the ball away from Aubameyang (6).
Sokratis with the thunderbolt
Eintracht showed little in terms of attacking intent but immediately looked dangerous on the rare occasions they did get forward, Fabián missing the first gilt-edged chance after surfacing unmarked at the back post in the ninth minute, before Bürki made a spectacular save to thwart a Gacinovic effort from seven metres out on 22 minutes. However, the Swiss shot-stopper was completely powerless to prevent Fabián's piledriver seven minutes later, the Mexican swerving an effort from some distance into the top corner to level the score at 1-1. Replays indicate the ball may have taken a slight deflection off Sahin's thigh on the way through.
The hosts, though, hit back with a dream goal of their own from the unlikeliest of sources just five minutes later. Picking the ball up in the centre circle, Sokratis drove through the middle of midfield and eased past Ordonez with the type of feint we're not not accustomed to seeing from the tough-tackling Greek defender. Clearly less surprised than most of the onlooking spectators by his own technical abilities, he kept his composure and fired a thunderbolt no less spectacular than Fabián's earlier strike into the top corner to put BVB back in the lead (34).
Aubameyang seals the three points
The tempo fell substantially after the half-time interval as both teams dropped down a gear and switched their focus to defence. Aubameyang spurned an opportunity to put the Black and Yellows ahead in the 58th minute, before Fabián drilled low and wide from 18 metres out 11 minutes later. As the game moved into the closing stages Dembélé, sprinting into the Eintracht half, latched onto a Castro clearance down the left. The Frenchman cut inside before threading the ball between two defenders to Aubameyang, who dinked it over Hradecky to round off the victory (86).
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Prospects:
On Wednesday (19 April, 20:45 CET) the Black and Yellows will travel to AS Monaco for the return leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final. Three days later they are on the road again, this time facing Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga in Saturday's evening game (22 April, 18:30 CET).