21st matchday
“Found the right feet”: painting and filling jugs are convincing
Donyell Malen (M) scored two goals for Borussia Dortmund. photo
© Bernd Thissen/dpa
Borussia Dortmund is continuing the upward trend that began at the beginning of the year. With a 3-0 win over Freiburg, they achieved their fourth win in their fifth game. Painting and filling jugs are particularly impressive.
This time there was really no reason to complain. The confident 3:0 (2:0) success over Freiburg satisfied all of Dortmund and reconciled the fans for the zero number a week earlier in Heidenheim. The jumping professionals celebrated with obvious joy in front of the south stand.
“We had the right intensity from the start and scored at the right moment,” said Dortmund double packer Donyell Malen on DAZN. The other goalscorer, birthday boy Niclas Füllkrug, remarked: “I wished for a victory for my birthday today, and maybe a little goal was secretly there too.” Offensively, BVB often “found the right feet and often played the clean pass,” said the national striker.
Thanks to goals from Malen (16th minute/45th+7) and Füllkrug (87th) in front of 81,365 spectators in the sold-out Signal Iduna Park, BVB consolidated fourth place in the table and got 13 points from the last five league games. After fan protests, the game was interrupted for a few minutes in both halves.
Painting provides guidance
BVB has a “high quality,” said SC playmaker Vincenzo Grifo soberingly: “In Dortmund you have to be very efficient, you have to use the chances you have. And we didn’t manage to do that.” For Freiburg, the long wait for their first success in Dortmund since 2001 continues. The current seventh-place team has not won against BVB in 16 games.
Dortmund coach Edin Terzic used the recovery of several professionals to rebuild the team. The starting eleven, which had changed four positions compared to the Heidenheim game, got into the game better. Malen (13th) was already close to taking the lead when an overhead kick was saved by SC goalkeeper Noah Atubolu. Three minutes later the Dutchman did better. After a pass from Füllkrug, he delivered the ball with force and precision into the top right of the Freiburg goal.
Despite the early deficit, the guests were not as passive as in previous years when visiting Dortmund. However, she wasn’t really a threat to score. BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel was only required for a header from attacker Michael Gregoritsch (21′).
Dortmund continued to dominate the game after the break
Even a ten-minute break in the game did little to change the balance of power. In protest against the investor entry sought by the German Football League (DFL), BVB fans threw tennis balls and chocolate coins onto the lawn from the south stand.
When the game restarted, Dortmund were back to operating temperature more quickly. A remarkable counterattack paved the way for a 2-0 lead. Once again, top scorer Füllkrug made a name for himself as a passer when he played the ball into Malen’s path in an exemplary manner. The fast winger scored with a well-placed shot into the far corner to give his team a reassuring lead at the break.
Even after the restart, BVB remained dominant in the game. Two brilliant saves from SC goalkeeper Atubolu on shots from Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (46′) and Füllkrug (53′) prevented Dortmund from scoring another goal. The goalkeeper was also there for a header from returnee Marco Reus (71′). Luck was on his side when new signing Ian Maatsen hit the outside post two minutes later.
Borussia was able to get over the fact that Reus missed another chance in the 75th minute and narrowly missed the goal with a shot from twelve meters. The deserved victory was no longer in danger in the final phase.