Risk-taking backfires as ten-man BVB lose 4-2 in Hanover

Dennis-Julian Gottschlich reporting

The 49,000 spectators – including at least 12,000 travelling BVB fans – at a sold-out HDI Arena saw the hosts open the scoring on the 20-minute mark when Jonathas converted from the spot, only for Zagadou to restore parity seven minutes later. The visitors were not on level terms for long, though, with Bebou re-establishing the 96ers' lead nine minutes before the interval. Yarmolenko equalised again seven minutes after the restart, but Zagadou was then sent off for a professional foul on the hour mark and Klaus' stunning strike from the ensuing free-kick made it 3-2. Bebou then added a fourth to round off the scoring and secure the points with four minutes remaining.

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The scenario:
The two teams experienced contrasting fortunes in the DFB Cup in midweek. While BVB strolled to a 5-0 victory at 1. FC Magdeburg to reach the last 16, Hannover exited the competition following a 1-0 loss in Wolfsburg. The Black & Yellows were always going to have their work cut out in this one: the 96ers, who have been the best of the promoted sides, occupied sixth place in the table before kick-off and shared the best defensive record in the league with BVB (seven goals conceded).

Personnel matters:
Aubameyang, Götze, Pulisic and Weigl were all included in the matchday squad after recovering from minor injuries. All bar the latter returned to the starting XI, where they were joined by Castro, as Bosz made four personnel changes in total. They replaced Dahoud (injury in Magdeburg) and Philipp (rested), neither of whom made the journey to Lower Saxony, and Isak and Kagawa, who started on the bench. The other players unavailable for the Black & Yellows included Toprak (thigh strain) and long-term injury absentees Piszczek (lateral collateral ligament), Reus (rehab), Rode (pubic bone) and Durm (hip operation). Hannover, meanwhile, were without Felipe (ruptured tendon), Bech (torn meniscus), Prib (torn cruciate ligament) and Bazee (ruptured tendon).

Tactics:
Hannover, who lined up in a 3-4-3 formation, opted for a tactical approach based on long balls and counter-attacks. When the Black & Yellows, who took to the field in their usual 4-3-3 formation, had possession, they were pressed by the front three of Jonathas (left), Klaus (centre) and Bebou (right), along with Ostrzolek (left) and Korb (right).

The match & analysis:
BVB created the first promising chance of the match on the two-minute mark when Yarmolenko crossed into the six-yard box from the right, though Sorg made a last-ditch clearance with an outstretched leg to deny Aubameyang. The game subsequently developed into a rather tenacious affair, in which Hannover's primary objective was to disrupt BVB's build-up and link-up play. The playing surface, which was far from ideal, also played a part as Peter Bosz's charges struggled to carve open shooting opportunities.

The hosts, meanwhile, sat back and waited for their chance to counter. Bürki made a save to keep out Schwegler after 16 minutes, but was beaten three minutes later when Klaus burst into the penalty area and, having lost control of the ball, cleverly went to ground following a collision with the Swiss international, who had come racing off his line. It was by no means a stone-wall penalty, but referee Ittrich nonetheless pointed to the spot and his decision was upheld by the video assistant referee at Bundesliga headquarters in Cologne. Jonathas dispatched the ensuing spot-kick into the bottom left corner (20).

Zagadou scores first Bundesliga goal

The decision to award the spot-kick clearly riled Borussia Dortmund, who fortunately replied with a deserved equaliser only seven minutes later as Zagadou opened his Bundesliga account. Aubameyang initially failed to connect with Pulisic's cross in the 24th minute, but the Black & Yellows subsequently won a corner. The set-piece was initially cleared by Hannover but Sahin put it straight back in to the danger zone and when Bakalorz's attempted clearance landed at the feet of Zagadou, the Frenchman arrowed a volley into the bottom-left corner to level the scores on 27 minutes. Yarmolenko had an excellent opportunity to make it 2-1 nine minutes later but missed the target from an unmarked position seven metres from goal.

That profligacy was soon punished when Hannover re-established their lead with five minutes of the first period remaining. The hosts launched a lightning-quick counter down the right following a BVB free-kick and Bebou steered a Jonathas cross back across Bürki and inside the back post. It was another setback for the Black & Yellows, whose defenders had been caught completely out of position. Bosz's charges remained unperturbed, though, and the match developed into a very open affair after the restart, though their aspirations of getting back into the game were dealt another blow when Zagadou was sent off for a professional foul on Jonathas on the hour mark.

Yarmolenko levels

Klaus took the ensuing free-kick, curling an unstoppable effort from 17 metres into the top corner to make it 3-2. Yarmolenko had earlier restored parity for the visitors in the 52nd minute when, with great technical ability, he volleyed a poor attempted clearance from Sane into the bottom right corner from 15 metres out. Other second-half chances for BVB fell to Götze (46), Aubameyang, who was denied by a last-ditch clearance (55) and Pulisic, whose shot following a one-two with Sahin was sensationally saved by Tschauner (62). At the other end, Klaus could have scored more goals but missed from the edge of the box shortly after the restart (48) and was later denied by Bürki's reactions (63).

The Black & Yellows remained unfazed by the scoreline and continued to battle valiantly until the end, repeatedly putting the hosts under pressure despite being a man down. However, they failed to carve out any opportunities of note and having taken the risk of pouring forward in search of an equaliser, they left themselves rather exposed at the back. Bürki made a strong save from Bebou to keep BVB in the game (76), but the Togo forward got his second of the afternoon ten minutes later following a quick Hannover counter-attack (86). Bürki then made another superb stop from Harnik in the 89th minute.

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Prospects:
BVB are next in action on Wednesday evening (20:45 CET), when they play host to Apoel Nicosia in the UEFA Champions League. That will be followed by a top-of-the-table meeting with FC Bayern in the Bundesliga next Saturday (4/11, 20:30 CET).

Teams & goals