Ten competitive games, ten wins – Borussia Dortmund is becoming more and more a real competitor for the title of FC Bayern, which has been dominating for years. With the 2: 1 (2: 0) in the Bundesliga top game against RB Leipzig, the team of football teacher Edin Terzic took the lead in the table at least for one day.
In front of 81,365 spectators in the sold-out Signal Iduna, Marco Reus (21st minute / penalty kick) and Emre Can (39th) scored in a high-class game for the hard-fought victory of the Revierclub, which continued the impressive flight that began after the winter break. Only with a win on Saturday in Stuttgart can Bayern pass again thanks to their better goal difference.
“We played a really good game in the first half, and we defended very passionately in the second half,” Terzic summed up on the DAZN streaming service. “The fact that it got tight again at the end was of course annoying, but we accepted it.” He didn’t want to justify himself because luck was on his team’s side. Captain Reus said: “In the end, of course, I’d rather win than play well and lose.”
BVB without Kobel, RB initially without Werner
On the other hand, Leipzig, coached by former BVB coach Marco Rose, suffered a setback in the fight for the championship and are now seven points behind Borussia. Emil Forsberg’s goal in the 74th minute was ultimately not enough. “I think we played a great second half. We put pressure on, we were always on the ball, we created great chances. We were the better team in the second half,” said Forsberg. Rose agreed: “The second half was clearly ours.”
Both teams started the game with a handicap. The recently highly praised BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel had to pass at short notice due to muscular problems in his thigh and be replaced by Alexander Meyer. Attacker Timo Werner complained to the guests about health problems before the game. For him, Christopher Nkunku, who has recovered from a torn lateral ligament, was back in the starting XI for the first time in 111 days.
159 goals: Reus draws level with Zorc
The returned striker caused a lot of problems for Borussia, who hadn’t lost a home game on a Friday night in 19 years. In both the 3rd and 7th minutes, Nkunku was close to taking the lead for Leipzig. BVB also contributed to the high entertainment value of the game from the start. But Julian Brandt’s supposed opening goal in the 13th minute was annulled because of a handball by the international.
Just eight minutes later, Dortmund were rewarded for their brisk start. After a foul by Leipzig goalkeeper Janis Blaswich on Reus, the captain took the penalty himself and converted safely. Thanks to his 159th competitive goal for BVB, Reus drew level with Dortmund record player Michael Zorc.
The early deficit could not deter the guests. More and they took over the direction, forced BVB on the defensive, but missed the possible equalizer when Marcel Halstenberg (35th) had a chance. In the Leipzig urgent phase, however, the Terzic team struck again. When Can’s shot was deflected from 18 meters away, Blaswich had no chance and was unable to prevent his team from being 2-0 down at the break.
RB leaves two top chances in stoppage time
After the restart, the Rose team increased their efforts to get back the goal. André Silva’s shot (48′) just missed the BVB goal. But with all the ball possession, the guests continued to struggle to create chances. On the other hand, BVB rarely managed to free themselves from the pressure by counterattacking in this phase. Nevertheless, Blaswich had to use all his skills in the 67th minute to avert the 0:3 when Reus shot.
Shortly thereafter, BVB goalkeeper Meyer came into focus, who initially made a strong save against Silva, but was powerless at Forsberg’s goal. National player David Raum provided the precise template. However, the dreaded RB final offensive did not materialize, BVB defended with concentration.
From the 85th minute, Leipzig had to continue playing outnumbered because the exchange quota was exhausted. Coach Rose was no longer allowed to send a player onto the field for the injured Xaver Schlager. Nevertheless, RB still had two top chances in injury time, but neither substitute Werner nor Forsberg got the ball over the line.
