Guirassy double seals victory for wasteful Dortmund in Baku
| Photo: Lars Baron/Getty Images. |
Borussia Dortmund bounced back to winning ways tonight courtesy of a 2-1 triumph over Champions League minnows Sabah tonight. However, Niko Kovač's side made it look anything but easy as a Serhou Guirassy brace bailed them out in the Azerbaijani capital.
Given a rare start, Carney Chukwuemeka availed of Dortmund's initial dominance with a couple of neat passes in behind. Two of which Serhou Guirassy and Fábio Silva should have done better with. The latter far too nonchalant with his finish from a one-on-one position.
Guirassy would make amends with the next move, pouncing on a Felix Nmecha rebound to open the scoring. Steve Solvet's foul on the edge of the box resulted in a freekick. Joey Veerman's venomous hit forced a busy Stas Pokatilov into another parry.
Sabah had moments too and would not be deterred byJoy-Lance Mickels' offside strike. The hosts pulled level before the break from a set-piece. Ex-Union Berlin star Tymoteusz Puchacz delivering a peach of a ball for Aden McCarthy to head in from six yards out.
Similar to the first-half, BVB emerged from the dressing rooms sharper and went 2-1 inside eight minutes – Guirassy's left boot meeting a Veerman cross with precision. Gregor Kobel only had to deal with a speculative Mikels drive from range which caused little alarm.
Sabah introduced Orphé Mbina and Aleksey Isaev just past the hour. Another critical block by McCarthy kept Guirassy out before Kovač called upon Joane Gadou, Marcel Sabitzer and Jobe Bellingham. The latter creating an instant chance which Silva spurned wastefully.
With the game still in the melting pot, Mbina flashed wide from a decent opportunity. BVB's lack of clinical edge left for a nervy final fifteen minutes. Both Silva and Sabitzer found space to kill the contest off. With neither doing so, the Westphalians limped over the line to victory.
