Everyone's happy with Guirassy – Kovac's clever move paves the way to victory | OneFootball

With 36 points, Borussia Dortmund currently occupy second place in the table. “How many points did we have a year ago?,” Kovac asks rhetorically at the press conference. Back then, after a 4-2 defeat at Holstein Kiel, it was 25 – 11 points less. “That's why you always have to differentiate,” he added – well aware that the fans had taken a long time to warm up to the game. The same was true for the coach himself, who was clearly critical of the team's approach. “We were not in the game in the first half. I wasn't happy. We can do much better. I told that to the team at halftime.”

Nevertheless Kovac later stated: “It's always primarily about the A-rating. The overall impression is an added bonus. We can improve in that area. We are pleased with the team's development. In the first half of this season, we have only lost one match.”

The fact that the team turned the game around against Bremen in front of a sold-out crowd, was due to two things: firstly, a strong performance by goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, who reacted quickly to thwart Bremen's only two chances of the match in the first 18 minutes, and secondly, a tactical adjustment by the coach, who changed his approach after 66 minutes, by letting substitutes Serhou Guirassy and Jobe Bellingham join the game and switching from a 3-4-3 to a 3-5-2 formation. “We had to switch to three midfielders and two strikers in order to create compactness in midfield.” After Nico Schlotterbeck early 1-0 (11), the next crucial goals to 2-0 and 3-0 by Marcel Sabitzer (76) and Guirassy (83) – the latter prompted by a pressing Bellingham.

The end of the top scorer's goalless period prompted goalkeeper Gregor Kobel to sprint from one end of the pitch to the other. “I am really happy of course for him. Everyone knows that when you're a striker waiting for a goal, and it just doesn't happen, it feels especially good to score the 3-0 at the right moment, even more so when you come off the bench,” Kobel said, adding: “We are a team. We're all there for each other, and I'm extremely happy for anyone who scores a goal. And at a moment like this even more so.”

Perhaps it also helped Guirassy that he hadn't had to battle the robust Bremen defenders for 83 minutes first. Instead, he was fit and fresh when he received a “gift” in the form of an error by Amos Pieper which happened practically on the penalty spot from where he fired a shot scoring the 3-0. It was his sixth league goal of the season. “The plan worked. In the second half games open up. As a striker, you also need a bit of luck, that the ball falls right at your feet,” Kovac noted: “It's important that he scored, not just for himself, but also for us as a team. Without goals, you don't win games, and you don't achieve your objectives.”

The team has now scored three goals in each of the two consecutive matches to start the new year: first in the 3-3 in Frankfurt, then in the 3-0 against Bremen. On Sunday FC St. Pauli visits SIGNAL IDUNA PARK, a team with a score to settle after the 3-3 draw (after a 3-1 lead) in the first leg.Boris Rupert