The encouraging applause from the BVB fans who had traveled with them could hardly cheer up the completely disappointed Dortmund players, but coach Edin Terzic immediately demonstrated his fighting spirit again. He showed the supporters four fingers to signal them after the unexpected setback in the championship fight: We won’t give up in the four remaining games of the season either!
But with the disappointing 1-1 (1-1) in the derby at VfL Bochum, the Bundesliga leaders may have gambled away their best starting position in years. The pursuer from Munich can overtake again with a home win over bottom Hertha BSC on Sunday.
“It’s very disappointing. We knew we had it in our own hands if we won all the games,” said BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel on DAZN: “The stadium was full of emotions, but we still had a lot of chances, in order to win.” In the fight for the title, “nothing is lost yet, but it’s a setback”. The malicious chants of the VfL fans “German champion is only the FCB” also contributed to the frustration of all Dortmunders.
In front of 26,000 spectators in the sold-out Ruhr Stadium, Bochum goalscorer Anthony Losilla (5th minute) snatched BVB from all dreams of the first championship since 2012. Even Karim Adeyemi’s immediate goal (7th) couldn’t change the fact that Dortmund went on to win across all competitions went without a win away from home for the sixth time in a row.
On the other hand, the table-15. from Bochum have every reason to be happy. After surprisingly winning a point in a district derby that was fought over long stretches, the club found new courage in the fight to stay in the class.
Losilla hits the corner perfectly from 17 meters
“Friday evening, derby, one team wants to be German champions, the other wants to stay in the league – there’s nothing better,” said VfL coach Thomas Letsch shortly before kick-off. And the teams offered the crowd a lot of spectacle right from the start, each scoring a goal with their first chances.
When Bochum took the lead early on, Losilla hit the ball perfectly from almost 17 meters into the corner, BVB goalkeeper Kobel stretched in vain. This was preceded by a successful dribbling by Takuma Asano, who was preferred to Simon Zoller at VfL, against Raphael Guerreiro.
But the answer from the title contender, for whom captain Marco Reus was again not in the starting XI one day after his contract extension, followed promptly: After a long ball, Danilo Soares misjudged Dortmund’s attacking right side, so that Donyell Malen broke through and passed the ball sharply inside could. Sébastien Haller touched him with his toe, but Adeyemi pushed him over the line to make it 1-1.
Bellingham and Adeyemi miss opportunities to make it 2-1
As a result, the BVB team, which Letsch called the “world selection”, tried to control the game and created more chances. In the 26th minute, Jude Bellingham and Adeyemi had a double chance after a counterattack for Dortmund’s second goal on their feet. Bellingham’s shot was parried by the recently heavily criticized VfL goalkeeper Manuel Riemann. The hosts obviously had their problems with the very conspicuous Adeyemi.
But BVB also revealed weaknesses in the transition game, which Asano (35th) and Philipp Hofmann (43rd) almost punished. All in all, Bochum presented themselves much better than the 1:5 home defeat against VfL Wolfsburg a week earlier. They countered Dortmund’s desire to play with strength in duels and the joy of running and also looked for the way forward. BVB sports director Sebastian Kehl had expected nothing else: “They will scratch, bite and do everything.”
BVB is denied a penalty
Even after the change of sides, VfL defended compactly and passionately. Dortmund often lacked ideas in the last third of the field, and the slippery lawn due to the increasing rain also made their combination game more difficult. The visitors were unlucky when they were denied a penalty after Soares had lobbed Adeyemi in the penalty area (65′). BVB trainer Terzic was very upset about this decision on the sidelines.
About a quarter of an hour before the end, Terzic brought in two fresh attacking players in Reus and Youssoufa Moukoko – and that paid off immediately. Moukoko (75th) had a great chance to make it 2-1 for Dortmund after a pass from Reus, which increased the pressure significantly. Mats Hummels scored just one offside goal just before the end of regulation time.
