The pressure of the past few weeks has not left the Borussia Dortmund players unscathed. The resistant demeanor at Union Berlin after a shaky start should give coach Edin Terzic’s team a decisive push in the right direction.
“At the beginning you noticed the uncertainty, especially from last weekend,” said goalkeeper Alexander Meyer after the 2-0 (1-0) in Köpenick. “We knew this was going to be a real fight. Then we accepted it.”
After the 2:3 against Hoffenheim and the sobering performances of the previous weeks, there was once again great unrest at BVB, as was the pressure on coach Edin Terzic. Some media already saw a “final” for him. Apparently the team was unsettled in the early stages. “It is then my job as head coach, our job as a coaching team, to lead the way and radiate calm,” said the 41-year-old.
BVB has enough of a short period of pressure to take the lead at halftime
“We had big problems in the first 30 minutes. We lost a lot of balls.” Terzic said his team tried to find its way through the middle with the ball too often. The plan was to play from line to line to open up the center. That worked well when Karim Adeyemi scored the opening goal (41st minute).
The Black and Yellows managed to free themselves from the Berlin press. The disorganized Union defense was unable to get into a duel against Adeyemi. His shot went off the bottom edge of the crossbar and into the goal.
Terzic is repeatedly accused of failings in coaching within a game. But the coaching team’s decision to let him and Jadon Sancho swap wings after half an hour paid off when it came to the goal. They wanted to give the Berlin full-backs a few different tasks.
A short period of pressure was enough for the Black and Yellows to take the lead at halftime. After the break, Dortmund showed more of their fighting spirit. A strong moment of pressing from Ian Maatsen brought the decision shortly before the end (90th).
Meyer: “That should give us a boost”
“In the second half you saw that you don’t always have to choose a playful approach, but simply. We were there with the second balls and created one or two chances,” said Meyer.
The result should now provide tailwind. “Union isn’t exactly the easiest away game. That should definitely give us a boost. Because it won’t be any easier in Bremen next week,” said Meyer.
For Union it was the first home defeat under coach Nenad Bjelica, who was hired last autumn. The Croatian was very happy with his team’s effort, but complained: “We made bad and wrong decisions before the penalty area.” So the Köpenickers were unable to take advantage of Dortmund’s initial uncertainty.
Terzic: “We still have a long way to go”
The Berliners only got one point from two home games in a row and failed to gain a better starting position in the relegation battle. Union will play against premier class candidate VfB Stuttgart on Friday (8.30 p.m./DAZN).
After the Bremen game against Eindhoven, Dortmund’s goal is to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The top teams from Munich, Leverkusen, Stuttgart and Leipzig are still waiting in the league. “Of course we still play against the top teams. But we also have to aim to make it successful,” said the 32-year-old goalkeeper Meyer, who once again represented and convinced Gregor Kobel.
The Saxons still kept Dortmund behind them with the victory. There is no alternative for BVB to fourth place, which qualifies for the minimum goal of the Champions League. Terzic said he was happy with the victory. “But we know that we still have a long way to go.”
