“The first half was a spectacle, the second hard graft” | OneFootball

“I would’ve found it even more awesome if we’d scored one or two more goals. But you have to be satisfied with what you get. It was a great win. The fans created a cool atmosphere. It was nice to hear them again. That makes you look forward to the season,” said Gregor Kobel after the opening match in front of 81,365 enthusiastic spectators at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK.

“The first half was spectacular, the second was a lot of work,” Lars Ricken summed up the game. The shot count was 14:0 after 45 minutes, but 6:8 in the second half. In that period, “we played a little less the way I had imagined. We have to do better,” criticized Niko Kovac.

BVB thinking more offensively

With an “exciting, bold lineup” (Ricken), the coach reacted to the absence of Ramy Bensebaini (bruised ribs) as backup on the left center-back position. Since Nico Schlotterbeck and Emre Can are already out long term, Kovac had to get creative. To avoid a complete reshuffle, he gave Daniel Svensson that role. The Swede, who has already played in that position for the national team, delivered a flawless performance: 90 percent of his passes reached a teammate. “It helped that we were so dominant in the first half, rather than coming under pressure right away,” said Kobel, adding: “He did a great job.”

That applied to everyone as well — especially in the first half, which they controlled so dominantly. Every cog meshed with the next. Managing director Lars Ricken was pleased that the “more offensive approach was the focus”: “We saw great combinations and showed that we are capable of producing something extraordinary.”

A textbook 1:0

Jobe Bellingham (an outstanding performance over the full 90 minutes!) started the move for the 1:0 with a penetrating vertical ball to Konstantinos Karetsas. And then it happened fast. Too fast for HSV. Karetsas to Serhou Guirassy, a quick one-two between the two, and then the path was clear for the striker: his 61st goal in his 98th game for BVB.

“With Beier on the left flank, the coach also opted for the more offensive solution here,” said Ricken — and that decision paid off completely as well. Svensson played the ball forward at the start of first-half stoppage time, Maximilian Beier broke through on the left wing, spotted Giannis Konstantelias, whose shot was deflected beyond reach by Hamburg’s defensive leader Sebastiaan Bornauw.

“We’re looking forward to the next home games”

“The coach showed that we want to play brave, fresh football,” Ricken concluded, adding: “We confirmed the positive mood and are looking forward to the next home games.” For the next match on September 8, there is a great opportunity to get tickets, especially for those without season tickets! Advance sales for the Champions League home game against Villarreal CF begin next Tuesday (1 Sept., 12 noon), initially for club members, then for everyone who wants to see the new BVB…Boris Rupert

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