Sahin's Dortmund brush back crisis talk with statement win over Leipzig
An engaging affair at Signal Iduna Park saw both teams play determined and driven football. In the end, Nuri Sahin's BVB secured a deserved victory for themselves.
In a newly concocted 4-1-4-1 tactical formation, Nuri Sahin's Borussia Dortmund were able to power past Marco Rose's RB Leipzig at Signal Iduna Park. After a horror-filled Halloween week that saw them drop points against Augsburg last week and get eliminated from the DFB Pokal, Sahin's crew pulled themselves out of the crisis fire with several inspired performances. A 2-1 win over the German Red Bulls owed much to excellent matches from Maximilian Beier, Jamie Gittens, and captain Emré Can.
Injuries limited Sahin's options in fielding a side all that much different from the one that lost to Wolfsburg in the Pokal.As a result, there were only two changes to the previous team. Alexander Meyer stood in goal for the injured Gregor Kobel. Marcel Sabitzer was at least fit enough to start again, and took the place of Donyell Malen. Rose - after his team's Pokal win - rotated back in the likes of Peter Gulacsi, Benjamin Sesko, Loïs Openda, Antonio Nusa, and Amadou Haidara.
The Westphalian hosts maintained an edge in possession over the opening ten minutes, producing the first real chance of the match when a sleek dribble from Gittens ended up giving Beier a chance in the 10th. The German national team striker headed just wide. Gittens himself wasted a chance in the 14th when he finished too meekly in front of Gulacsi. Rose employed a tactical shift early on and the Saxons began to look much more comfortable in a back-four that more closely mirrored Sahin's tactical construct.
After gradually playing their way back into the game, the German Red Bulls were eventually able to open the scoring. Openda left BVB skipper Can standing in the box in the 27th before setting up Sesko with a cheeky back-heel. Dortmund immediately shook off the opening goal and would have equalized immediately were it not for a brilliant save from Gulacsi on Gittens in the 29th. Die Schwarzgelben were nevertheless able to notch the 1-1 on the ensuing corner kick.
Beier got it right at the half-hour mark, polishing off a Felix Nmecha header down of a Pascal Groß cross. Both sides traded chances before the half was out. Openda nearly set up Sesko again with another back-heel in the 41st. A miscommunication between Nmecha and Serhou Guirassy at 45+2 meant that Dortmund fouled up a chance to go into the locker room with the lead. A 1-1 scoreline at the break didn't exactly do justice to BVB superiority over the opening 45.
A series of chances for the home side after the restart left observers wondering if Sahin's Dortmund might be slightly snake-bit. Gittens, Brandt, Nmecha, Guirassy, and even Nico Schlotterbeck were knocking on the door of the 2-1, yet couldn't get through. At the other end, Leipzig managed to create some danger themselves. The hosts owed much to the defensive work of under-fire captain Can. Playing out of position in central defense, the much-criticized skipper made two vital stops on Openda.
Guirassy ultimately netted the 2-1 in the 65th after Beier did an excellent job digging a ball out near the touchline and crossing in. Top-notch end-to-end action ensued. Can made another excellent stop on RB sub Eljif Elmas in the 71st Gulacsi somehow prevented Julian Brandt from scoring the 71st. Beier narrowly missed in the 74th. Matters calmed significantly in the final 15 minutes with both sides largely neutralizing one another. When the full-time whistle finally blew, Dortmund were able to celebrate their ninth consecutive home win.