PLAYER RATINGS | 1. FC Köln 1-2 Borussia Dortmund — Serhou Guirassy and Maximilian Beier goals help Niko Kovač’s side grab three points in close contest | OneFootball

After suffering a dramatic 3-2 defeat at the hands of rivals Bayern Munich in the Der Klassiker last weekend, Borussia Dortmund returned to winning ways, courtesy of goals from Serhou Guirassy and Maximilian Beier. 

The hosts piled the pressure on Dortmund in the first ten minutes of the match, as Youssoupha Niang came close in the 5th minute with a header from the centre of the box, but his attempt was saved by Gregor Kobel in the top left corner. Several half-chances came for Köln later, and Niko Kovač’s men handled everything quite well in the first half by keeping their defence compact. 

Die Borussen’s attack was on point in shifting the pressure on Köln whenever the opportunity arose, as they drew first blood through Guirassy’s 16th-minute strike. The former Köln man refrained from celebrating in front of the home audience out of respect for the club. Dortmund’s opener came from Beier’s header into the box, and the Guinea striker was clinical enough from close range to connect with it to send it home. 

The home side lost their initial flair and had to return to defending after being reduced to ten men near half-time as Jahmai Simpson-Pusey was handed his marching orders. 

The second half was a rather quiet affair until Beier doubled Dortmund’s lead in the 60th minute with his eighth goal of this Bundesliga campaign. Köln avoided a penalty kick after a VAR check soon after conceding, as the visitors aimed to finish the match smoothly. However, Jakub Kamiński worked his way into the Dortmund defence in the 88th minute to slot home a right-footed strike. 

Die Geißböcke had a last-minute added-time penalty call denied due to an offside. The final whistle meant that Dortmund grabbed all three points from a contest that could have turned sour late, while Köln are now under direct threat of being overtaken by St. Pauli and Werder Bremen. 

Köln 1-2 Borussia Dortmund Player Ratings

Köln:

Schwäbe (6), Hansen (7), Simpson-Pusey (2), Van den Berg (6), Krauß (6), Jóhannesson (5), Martel (6), El Mala (7), Kamiński (9), Niang (6), Ache (6). 

Others: Özkacar (5), Maina (5), Heintz (-), Bülter (-), Neumann (-). 

Borussia Dortmund:

Kobel (8), Bensebaini (7), Schlotterbeck (8), Anton (7), Svensson (7), Nmecha (7), Sabitzer (7), Ryerson (5), Brandt (8), Beier (9), Guirassy (8). 

Others: Couto (5), Silva (5), Süle (6), Adeyemi (4), Bellingham (-). 

GGFN Player of the Match: Jakub Kamiński (9)

The MOTM award should be shared between Beier and Kamiński, but the latter made the cut due to a better play time and a much more stellar impact for his own side despite being on ten men for the second half. The Polish international put Dortmund’s plan to secure a comfortable victory in jeopardy when he scored a late goal, though it failed. The honourable mention goes to Beier for the assist on Guirassy’s opener and for collecting on a Julian Brandt pass into the box and netting it, which ultimately became Dortmund’s winner on the night.

GGFN | Trambak Bhattacherjee