BVB turn the game around to win 3-2 and secure second-place finish
BVB began the match with the same starting XI as in Gladbach (a 1-0 loss), with returnees Niklas Süle, Felix Nmecha and Karim Adeyemi on the bench, – and duly conceded the quickest goal of the s...
BVB turn the game around to win 3-2 and secure second-place finish BVB began the match with the same starting XI as in Gladbach (a 1-0 loss), with returnees Niklas Süle, Felix Nmecha and Karim Adeyemi on the bench, – and duly conceded the quickest goal of the season: Former BVB player Mo Dahoud was not closed down aggressively enough on the left of the penalty area. He slipped the ball to Can Uzun, who also had too much space; his shot – which appeared to be blocked from Gregor Kobel’s view – found the far corner after just 78 seconds. Dortmund struggled to get into the game.
Marcel Sabitzer’s attempt from 18 metres marked their first chance after a quarter of an hour; shortly afterwards, Samuele Inacio got his head to Julian Brandt’s cross just outside the six-yard box, but Frankfurt goalkeeper Zetterer prevented the equaliser with a fine save (17). Subsequently, BVB, playing in a 3-4-2-1 formation, were only able to put Frankfurt under pressure and create chances sporadically: Brandt and Bellingham had efforts from near the edge of the box (in the 25th and 26th minute respectively). Guirassy also blasted the ball over the bar in the 28th minute, but he was in an offside position to begin with in any case.
The team’s play was too static overall. But just before half-time, the Black & Yellows turned the game on its head: Brandt skipped past Theate and then passed to Sabitzer, who played Julian Ryerson in on the right wing. Despite being under pressure, Serhou Guirassy managed to turn Ryerson’s sharp cross into the net from five metres out (42).
Shortly afterwards, the impressive Jobe Bellingham played the ball on to Maxi Beier on the edge of the box, whose cross was latched onto by the onrushing Nico Schlotterbeck from near the byline to make it 2-1 (45+2). Borussia started the second half with intensity, but it wasn’t until the hour mark that they looked truly dangerous again: a shot from Ryerson was well saved by Zetterer. Just as Eintracht began to make their presence felt in attack again following Mario Götze’s introduction, and looked to be on the verge of an equaliser (Kobel saved from Uzun, 62), Samuele Inacio scored the crucial goal to open up a 3-1 lead.