Whistles after home bankruptcy
DFB hope Beier shoots BVB into crisis
February 25, 2024, 7:27 p.m
Borussia Dortmund lost on matchday 23 of the Bundesliga for the first time this year and thus slipped into crisis. TSG Hoffenheim overturned a deficit within a few minutes and could suddenly hope for a place in the European Cup.
Seventh game, first defeat: Borussia Dortmund’s upward trend in the Bundesliga since the end of the winter break has come to a crashing end. In the 2:3 (2:1) draw against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, coach Edin Terzic’s team suffered a bitter setback in the fight for the Champions League places. The goals conceded by Ihlas Bebou (2nd minute) and Maximilian Beier (61st/64th) in front of 81,365 spectators in the sold-out Signal Iduna Park on Sunday deprived the fourth-placed team of the chance to extend their lead over their pursuers from Leipzig, who lost in Munich, to four points .
As in the last two games in Wolfsburg (1:1) and Eindhoven (1:1), the runner-up had a lot to be desired despite the interim lead by Donyell Malen (21st) and Nico Schlotterbeck (25th). The guests, on the other hand, celebrated their first success after eight competitive games without a win and improved to seventh place.
A blackout by Emre Can, who was replacing Mats Hummels in the back four because of a short-term illness, ushered in disaster for BVB. Can, who had been out of form for weeks, made a major bad pass to Nico Schlotterbeck, which Bebou took advantage of with a powerful shot from the right wing position to give Hoffenheim a 1-0 lead.
But the early deficit acted like a wake-up call for Dortmund, who had recently been rather sedate. They quickly tried to minimize the damage. Marcel Sabitzer caused a peat threat twice when he tested TSG goalkeeper Oliver Baumann with a direct shot (7th) and a free kick (9th).
BVB’s pressure on the visitors’ goal increased continuously. With a brilliant save after a low shot from Malen (20th), goalkeeper Baumann was able to prevent the equalizer. Just a minute later, however, he was also powerless when the Dutchman sent Marco Reus’s header from close range into the net following a corner.
Can misses a huge opportunity
The fact that Borussia managed to remedy Can’s mistake in the second minute before the break was not only due to the powerful game, but also to the efficiency of set pieces. After a free kick from Reus, central defender Schlotterbeck was there with a header. Nevertheless, the guests remained dangerous when counterattacking. When Bebou passed it, Tohumcu (27th) had the equalizer on his feet, but didn’t hit the ball properly. In the final phase of the first half, TSG was able to relieve some of the pressure, but was unable to provide any decisive impetus forward.
After the restart, BVB initially took things a little more slowly – and made another mistake in defense when Ryerson served Hoffenheim’s Maximilian Beier in front of their own penalty area. But the midfielder left the gift unused and shot over the goal from 16 meters.
Nevertheless, Beier took on the role of the leading actor a little later. He completed a counterattack with a shot from the edge of the penalty area, which Schlotterbeck deflected unstoppable for BVB keeper Alexander Meyer. Just three minutes later, Beier finally spoiled Borussia’s mood and pushed Anton Stach’s pass over the line from close range. In the end, a great chance for Can in injury time was not enough for Dortmund.
“We can’t give up a game like this anymore. We had a lot of unclean actions and had problems continuing the game from the first half. That’s bitter, of course,” said Dortmund goalkeeper Alexander Meyer on the Internet broadcaster DAZN. Teammate Julian Brandt added: “In the end there was chaos.” After the final whistle, BVB, who missed out on a significantly better position for the second leg in the 1-1 draw in Eindhoven with a bloodless performance in the Champions League, had to put up with nasty whistles.