Borussia slip up with 3-2 loss in Berlin

Boris Rupert reporting from Berlin

Only 5,000 spectators – among them 200 BVB fans – were permitted to attend the final game of 2021. They saw a match brimming with penalty box action. Julian Brandt fired BVB into the lead on the half-hour mark. The men from Berlin turned the game around within the space of six minutes when Ishak Belfodil and Marco Richter struck shortly after the break, before Richter added another to make it 3-1. Substitute Steffen Tigges sparked hopes of a fightback by reducing the deficit to 3-2 with seven minutes to go, but it wasn't enough to stop his side from slipping to an unlucky defeat.

The scenario:  
Fourteenth versus second. Hertha might have won only one of their last seven league matches, but they went into this one unbeaten in four home games. BVB had lost just one of the previous 15 head-to-head meetings with the capital club.

Personnel matters: 
The Black & Yellows were without the majority of their first-choice rearguard, with goalkeeper Kobel suffering from illness, centre-backs Akanji (knee operation) and Hummels (ill) out, and midfielder Bellingham suspended. Reyna, Moukoko, Morey and Schmelzer were all unavailable too. There were five changes to the team that beat Fürth on Wednesday evening, with Hitz, Pongracic, Can, Dahoud and Malen coming into the team to replace the absent Kobel, Hummels and Bellingham, while Zagadou and Hazard dropped to the bench.

Tactics:  
A back four with Witsel and Pongracic in the centre of defence was protected by a midfield diamond, with Can at the base, Brandt and Dahoud in the wide positions and Reus sitting in the hole behind the two forwards. When in possession, Can would frequently drop between the centre-backs while full-backs Schulz and in particular Meunier would push forward, with Dahoud building the play from a central position. Hertha countered Borussia's 4-4-2 system with a 4-4-2 of their own, with a holding midfield duo and attack-minded wingers when they had possession. Without the ball, however, they reverted to two flat banks of four.

The match & analysis:
Players on both teams struggled to get to grips with a boggy surface that was tough to play on. The defenders in particular seemed to have difficulties staying on their feet – and with opponents when they made darting runs. As a result, both defences gave away more than their coaches would have liked. That did not make for a technically high-quality game, but an unpredictable one with lots of penalty box action instead – in part because both teams quickly tried to bypass the midfield with through-balls.

Borussia initially looked more comfortable and balanced. Stark prevented a possible opener in the ninth minute when he blocked Meunier's pass intended for Haaland in the six-yard box. At the other end, Ekkelenkamp was first played through by Belfodil's pass but his effort was kept out by a sprawling Hitz save (6), and then he missed a great chance to take the lead after exactly a quarter of an hour when he fired wide from close range.

Seconds later, Hertha thought they had scored. But a video intervention deemed the action taken by Belfodil, who was very narrowly offside, against Witsel to be punishable and Maolida's goal was disallowed. Lucky for BVB, who despite several defensive wobbles found themselves in front on the half-hour. Dahoud surged down the middle and played a through-ball to Haaland, who couldn't find a way between two Hertha players but spotted the run of Brandt down the left. Brandt latched on to the ball and delicately lifted it over Schwolow and into the net from the left of the six-yard box. On the stroke of half-time, Witsel's tap-in following a corner was correctly ruled out for offside (43).

Within minutes of the restart, it was all square again. Having intercepted a Dortmund attack, Darida played a long through-ball towards Belfodil. The Algerian won the footrace, cut into the penalty area from the left and beat Hitz to level at 1-1 (51). Six minutes later, Maolida was not sufficiently closed down and squared the ball to Richter, whose first-time shot from 17 metres flew into the top left corner to make it 2-1.

Reus had to go off injured immediately afterwards and watched from the sidelines as Haaland was denied by Schwolow. His replacement Hazard did find the back of the net but the goal was disallowed for offside (61). Then Malen burst down the right and passed the ball towards Dahoud, who missed the target by centimetres and with it the chance to level at 2-2. Instead, the home side extended their lead to two goals. After a loss of possession, Belfodil had a shot well saved by Hitz but the follow-up was hammered into the net by Richter from outside the area to make it 3-1 (69).

A triple substitution followed as Guerreiro, Zagadou and Wolf came on for Schulz, Witsel and Meunier. Guerreiro received the ball from Dahoud and crossed for Tigges to head home in the 83rd minute. The team tried everything, but they were not only up against Hertha but a slippery pitch too. It was one-way traffic by this point, but Hertha were happy to simply boot the ball out of play.

Outlook: 
A short winter break – more of a Christmas break in reality – will now start. BVB's first game of 2022 will be away in Frankfurt on the evening of 8 January (18:30 CET).

Teams & goals