Hard-fought win rewarded: BVB edge past Hoffenheim | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund has overcome the shock of their cup exit. Against TSG Hoffenheim, BVB won thanks to goals from Brandt in the 43rd minute and Schlotterbeck (60th) with a 2-0 (1-0) victory. Thanks to a strong second half, the Black and Yellows deservedly prevailed.

As before almost every Borussia Dortmund match this season, head coach Kovač made some changes to the starting lineup after the 0-1 defeat in the DFB-Pokal against Bayer Leverkusen. This time, he changed five positions. Anselmino, Yan Couto, Sabitzer, Brandt, and Guirassy started in place of Can, Ryerson, Bellingham, Adeyemi, and Silva (all on the bench).

Hoffenheim was not willing to hide in Dortmund. The Kraichgau side's counter-pressing posed some problems for BVB in their build-up play.

In an intense and hard-fought match from the start, no difference in performance was initially noticeable. Many duels but only a few scoring chances characterized the encounter.

The first moment of excitement came in the 22nd minute. During a counterattack, Coufal disrupted Guirassy in his own penalty area, who then demanded a penalty. However, referee Badstübner allowed play to continue.

TSG showed a bit more determination than the Black and Yellows. Prömel narrowly missed a cross from Asllani in the center (37th). Shortly before the break, Dortmund took the lead. Yan Couto received a pass from Adeyemi on the right side. He calmly passed back to Brandt, who slotted in from six meters to make it 1-0 (43rd). With their first real scoring chance, the Westphalians took the lead.

Guirassy Hits the Crossbar

Both teams started aggressively after the break. Svensson's header was saved by Baumann (49th). Bernardo had a free header but instead of aiming at the goal, he tried to pass sideways. BVB cleared the situation (52nd).

Exactly one hour had been played when Borussia increased their lead to 2-0. Following a corner, Nmecha passed to Schlotterbeck, who slipped but curled the ball into the Hoffenheim net from 16 meters.

Photo: Getty Images

The second goal from the hosts had an effect. The guests acted less concentrated than before the break, now allowing more misplaced passes.

It wasn't until the 78th minute that TSG posed a threat again. A cross from Coufal was volleyed towards the Dortmund goal by Kramarić. His shot flew just over the crossbar.

Huge chance for Guirassy to extend the lead to 3-0. After an outstanding pass from the strong Yan Couto, the BVB striker ran alone towards Baumann but hit the crossbar (90th).

Conclusion: In the first half, both teams were evenly matched. With the first chance, BVB took the lead. After the break, Dortmund controlled the match. Hoffenheim did not give up but ultimately lost deservedly.

BVB: Kobel – Anselmino, Anton, Schlotterbeck – Yan Couto (90.+3 Ryerson), Sabitzer, Nmecha (90. Bellingham), Svensson – Adeyemi (80. Beier), Brandt (80. Chukwuemeka) – Guirassy (90. Fábio Silva)

Hoffenheim: Baumann – Coufal, Hranáč, Hajdari, Bernardo – Avdullah – Prömel (73. Tohumcu), Burger (80. Hložek) – Asllani (62. Kramarić) – Lemperle (73. Bebou), Touré (80. Moerstedt)

Goals: 1-0 Brandt (43rd), 2-0 Schlotterbeck (60th)

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