Third game, third success – a hat-trick from Niclas Füllkrug gave Borussia Dortmund a fantastic start to the new year and a return to the Champions League ranks. With the long-shaky 3:1 (1:1) victory over feared opponents VfL Bochum, coach Edin Terzic’s team improved to fourth place and moved past RB Leipzig, which was six points ahead of BVB before the end of the winter break had.
Three goals from national striker Füllkrug (7th/72nd/90th+1) – including two converted penalty kicks – saved Borussia from a setback on Sunday in front of 81,365 spectators in the sold-out Signal Iduna Park. In contrast, the Bochum team had to accept their first defeat of 2024 despite the interim 1-1 score thanks to Nico Schlotterbeck’s own goal (45th).
A promising start seemed to save Borussia from a difficult evening with their strong duels this time. After just seven minutes, a foul penalty gave the team the lead. After a foul by VfL keeper Manuel Riemann on Donyell Malen, Füllkrug converted safely from the spot. But the people of Bochum were not very impressed. Just two minutes after falling behind, they came close to equalizing when Erhan Masovic narrowly missed the ball just in front of the goal line after Kevin Stöger’s corner. This encouraged coach Thomas Letsch’s team to launch further attacks, which gave the BVB defense plenty of work to do.
BVB coach Terzic’s courage to focus on an offensive tactical approach only paid off to a limited extent. Aided by the absences of the sick veterans Julian Brandt and Marco Reus, Youssoufa Moukoko was back in the starting line-up for the first time since February 2023 and stormed alongside Füllkrug.
Schlotterbeck hits his own goal
However, this measure did not help to achieve visible dominance. Only a shot from new signing Ian Maatsen (16th) and a free kick from Marcel Sabitzer (36th) showed any danger of scoring. The Bochum team managed to reward themselves for their commitment before the break – albeit with outside help. A cross from Patrick Osterhage sent BVB defender Schlotterbeck into his own goal, although goalkeeper Alexander Meyer, who was standing behind him, could have intercepted the ball. Meyer represented Gregor Kobel, who was also ill.
Even after the restart, Borussia initially had little to do to unsettle the dense Bochum defense. Despite all the advantages in possession, VfL keeper Riemann had little work to do for a long time. Instead, VfL had the best chance of taking a 2-1 lead when Meyer parried a shot from Christopher Antwi-Adjei (58th) in desperate need. This action was the start of a livelier final phase with chances on both sides. But the Dortmund team managed the decisive action. After Sabitzer’s cross, Füllkrug headed the ball from close range. The cold-snout national player finally scored the final point with the second foul penalty.