Bundesliga
Reus scores again: Dortmund are leaders after a 3-1 win at Hoffenheim
With the victory, BVB secures the lead in the table, at least overnight. photo
© Uwe Anspach/dpa
With a lot of efficiency, little shine and a bit of luck, Borussia Dortmund takes the lead in the table. In the premier class, the Terzic team has to make significant improvements.
For at least one night, Borussia Dortmund took the lead in the Bundesliga. The sometimes rather shaky runner-up won 3-1 (2-1) at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim at the start of the sixth matchday and remains unbeaten this season. “For us, another small obstacle that we have overcome. These are results that strengthen us,” said goal scorer Niclas Füllkrug on the streaming service DAZN. “There were a lot of emotions, it was a difficult game,” said goalkeeper Gregor Kobel: “In the end we did our job.”
Reus scores again
In front of the new national coach Julian Nagelsmann at his former place of work, the three goals in the first half on Friday evening were preceded by serious mistakes. In any case, coach Edin Terzic’s team was not able to fully convince before the next challenge in the Champions League on Wednesday against AC Milan – but Marco Reus was able to celebrate again as a goalscorer.
In front of 30,150 in the sold-out Sinsheim stadium, national player Füllkrug scored his first goal for BVB (18th minute) as did Reus (45th + 3) and Julian Ryerson (90th + 5) for BVB. Andrej Kramaric equalized with a penalty kick (25th). This also ended TSG’s series of four wins under coach Pellegrino Matarazzo. BVB professional Rami Bensebaini was shown a yellow-red card for knocking the ball away (71′).
Hoffenheim with major mistakes
Terzic had recently missed “a bit of lightness and a bit of magic” from his team – that didn’t change this time either. In any case, the BVB coach put captain Emre Can on the bench again and Reus was back in the starting line-up. First, Donyell Malen kept the TSG defense busy from the left: goalkeeper Oliver Baumann was able to fend off his first warning shot in the 14th minute.
A clear mistake by John Anthony Brooks, who lost the ball to Julian Brandt after a throw-in, served as a through ball for Füllkrug: The ex-Bremen man had no trouble shooting in to take the lead. The experienced Mats Hummels then made a double mistake: first the ex-world champion let the ball ricochet to Anton Stach, then he clearly stepped on the foot of the former Mainz player. Kramaric converted the penalty with his fourth goal of the season to equalize.
Hoffheim urge phase
In doing so, Borussia first rebuilt Hoffenheim’s team – and kept floundering at the back. Nico Schlotterbeck in particular had a good time with Kraichgauer’s new high-flyer: 20-year-old Maximilian Beier – most recently with four goals in four games – repeatedly scurried into the gaps in the BVB defense.
Somewhat surprisingly, given the hosts’ strong phase, the score was 2-1 before the break. This time TSG keeper and captain Baumann looked bad when he deflected the ball forward from a Malen cross and slotted it in for Reus. The 35-year-old scored like last week in the 1-0 win against VfL Wolfsburg.
The game then lost momentum due to many quibbles and interruptions. Füllkrug even came close to scoring an own goal when he tried to clear from a corner. Karim Adeyemi, still goalless this season, should give Dortmund some momentum. Even though BVB didn’t really get going, Adeyemi had a great chance to make it 3-1 in the 82nd, but was denied by Baumann. Ryerson did better in his 100th Bundesliga game; BVB has now won all of the last four guest games in Sinsheim.