No one was happy in the end. Above all, there was disappointment in the team and coach of Borussia Dortmund, who looked to be on their way to their first away win of this Bundesliga season in Mönchengladbach on Saturday evening. BVB were only briefly able to enjoy a 1-0 lead thanks to Jamie Gittens’ goal (65th minute), but in the end they had a second away draw as gladbach made it 1-1 thanks to a penalty kick controversial from Kevin Stöger used by Kevin Stöger. (71′), they were able to equalise.
Despite an energetic final spurt by BVB, the win was ultimately not enough after Gladbach’s Tomáš Čvančara (90.5), who had just been substituted, left the field again due to a yellow-red card. The Dortmund team, which was hit by injuries to many players, had to pay attention to new injuries to Maximilian Beier and Niklas Süle. Threaten to miss both Champions League games on Wednesday against FC Barcelona (9 pm in the FAZ Champions League live ticket and on DAZN). “Things didn’t look good for Niki, I can say,” BVB coach Nuri Sahin said of Süle, who injured his previously damaged ankle.
A lot of discipline,a little inspiration
Sahin was “very disappointed” that his team did not emerge as winners. After a game that was played hard by both sides, but it was not one of the main games of the season so far. There was a lot of fighting and hard work, but good football was only played now and then. The Gladbachers were happier than the Dortmunders. “We can live better with the point,” sports director Roland Virkus emphasized.
Too much discipline, too little inspiration: the traditional Borussia-West German duel went back and forth in rare fashion. There were two excitements in the first half: when, after Honorat’s corner, Rocco Reitz, born in Mönchengladbach, volleyed and the ball hit the hand of Dortmund center Serhou Guirassy, who was also defending in the BVB penalty area ( 16th).
Sabitzer aims wrong and too high
However, since the Guinean could not be accused of active movement and his arm was not spread apart but rested against his body, the video assistant’s review of the spot of the tricky penalty area did not reveal any balls criminal hand. Two minutes earlier,Dortmund goalkeeper Bensebaini accidentally stepped on Gladbacher scally’s foot in his own penalty area. Referee Stieler had no reason to award a penalty.
In addition, beier shot once over the target without any pressure (17th). Nothing more happened in a game where,at the moment,neither team was given the freedom necessary to score an effective goal and get the crowd going.
Gittens hits are worth seeing
So the hopes of both fan camps rested on the second half, where more action was needed for the sake of the game. But the quality of this Bundesliga classic was not enough to be a spectacle. After all, the Gladbachers especially wanted to score the first and possibly decisive goal.
Stöger’s free kick narrowly missed its target (48′), and Kleindienst’s shot was blocked by Süle (53′) after a promising solo run. The rest was tough, no matter how loud the fans of both camps were cheering for their teams.
And there it was, the redeeming act: England’s Jamie Gittens had had enough of the treachery, he rounded his Gladbach opponent and smashed the ball into the back right triangle to take the lead 1-0. Should BVB win their first away game of this Bundesliga season after four wins and one draw? Not untill now.
A little later, unlike Stieler, the video assistant saw Groß Dortmund clinging to his national teammate Kleindienst in his own penalty area (68th) – just like Stieler did on the stadium screen. So a penalty for the “Footballs”: the Austrian Stöger used to make it 1-1 for Gladbach. Ultimately Stieler, who found himself in the spotlight unintentionally, made the right decision in each case, even if the spectrum of opinion differed widely.
Borussia continued and pushed for 2-1. Substitute Robin Hack came closest, and his shot from the edge of the penalty area hit the crossbar (81′). In seven minutes of stoppage time, Dortmund were in control again.Guirassy’s header narrowly missed its target (90+3).
Afterwards, gladbach center forward Tomáš Čvančara, who had recently replaced him, had to leave again due to a yellow-red card (90+5). Borussia Dortmund no longer benefited from this. It remained a 1:1 tie.