Hard-fought win in Stuttgart – BVB go top | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund celebrated their fourth win in the fourth game. Against VfB Stuttgart, a goal from Beier in the 70th minute decided the clash between the two Champions League participants. Thanks to the 1-0 (0-0) victory, the Black and Yellows surged to the top of the table.

After the 3-0 win over promoted side Paderborn, BVB coach Kovac made two changes. Nmecha and Beier came into the starting lineup for Bellingham and Fábio Silva (both on the bench).

Both teams largely canceled each other out early on. Neither side managed to take control. As a result, the action was played almost exclusively between the penalty areas. The attitude was right on both sides, but in attack there was a lack of inspiration to break down the opposing defense.

BVB made a few simple mistakes in possession during the first half. After a major blunder by Gadou, Undav suddenly found himself clean through on Kobel. From a tight angle, however, the Stuttgart attacker lacked the necessary precision, allowing the Swiss goalkeeper to deny him with a strong save using his foot (31st minute).

The biggest chance of the match up to that point belonged to VfB. In the 35th minute, the Swabians combined nicely down the left flank. A pinpoint cross from Mittelstädt found the advancing El Khannouss, but he sent his header just wide of the right post.

But both teams still offered very little going forward. Among the most noticeable moments were the whistles from the VfB fans aimed at former Stuttgart player Anton. The Black and Yellows did not register a single shot on target in the first 45 minutes.

Karetsas returns

Both teams came out for the second half unchanged. There was also little change in the flow of the game at first. The match was defined mainly by the battle in midfield.

Good news from Dortmund’s point of view: after 62 minutes, Karetsas made his comeback after missing time due to circulatory problems. Bellingham also came on for Veerman.

Photo: Getty Images

Both substitutions had a positive effect on BVB’s game. In the 69th minute, Karetsas cut inside from the right. However, his left-footed shot from the edge of the box was a little too central. Just one minute later, Borussia made it 1-0.

At the right edge of the penalty area, Bellingham had all the time in the world and played a low pass into the middle. Beier was perfectly placed at the edge of the six-yard box and bundled the ball over the line to give Dortmund the lead.

A big chance for BVB came in the 74th minute. Nmecha hit the turbo in his own half and went on a sensational solo run all the way to the Stuttgart penalty area. Although he had a clear path to goal himself, he opted to pass and squared it to Karetsas. He then cut inside once more at the edge of the box, but only hit the side netting.

The Swabians showed commitment, but lacked efficiency. Too many crosses and forward passes ended up with the Black and Yellows. As a result, the BVB defense usually had little trouble.

The Westphalians were now pressing extremely high and mostly kept the ball away from their own goal. It was already the 90th minute when Mittelstädt picked out Sauer, who had only recently come on, with a precise cross. But his header was too central and ended up as a comfortable catch for Kobel.

Stuttgart tried to rely on high balls in the closing stages, but they caused BVB no problems.

Conclusion: In an evenly matched and chance-poor game, Beier’s goal proved decisive. Two shots on target and a focused defensive display were enough for BVB to keep VfB at bay.

Dortmund: Kobel – Gadou, Anton, Schlotterbeck – Ryerson (82' Bensebaini), Veerman (62' Bellingham), Nmecha, Svensson – Nwaneri (62' Karetsas), Beier (82' Sabitzer) – Guirassy (74' Fábio Silva)

VfB: Bredlow – Vagnoman, Jeltsch, Chabot, Mittelstädt – El Khannouss (84' Sauer), Prömel (84' Nartey), Stiller, Führich (64' Leweling) – Undav (64' Pejcinovic) – Demirovic

Goal: 0-1 Beier (70')

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.