Guirassy and Beier fire BVB to 2-0 victory in Heidenheim | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund dominated the opening stages of the match, were a man up from the 22nd minute and subsequently mostly posed a threat when they attacked down the flanks. Serhou Guirassy (33) and Maximilian Beier (45+6) scored to secure a deserved 2-0 lead heading into half-time. Not much then happened in the second half.

The scenario:    It was fourth place from last season against 16th, who kept their place in the division via the play-offs and were one of only two clubs in the league without a point to their name after two matchdays of this season. Last term, BVB won both matches against Heidenheim.

Personnel matters:   Borussia had to make do without Anselmino, Brandt, Can, Duranville, Fabio Silva, Schlotterbeck and Süle. Ryerson, Groß, Nmecha and Adeyemi came into the team to replace Anselmino (muscular problems), Brandt (hand operation), Sabitzer and Bellingham (both substitutes).

Tactics:    Operating in a 4-2-3-1 formation, Heidenheim played a high-pressing game and energetically disrupted BVB's build-up play. That meant that Borussia, who lined up in a 3-4-3 system, had plenty of possession but struggled to get into dangerous areas. Central defender Mainka constantly kept tabs on Guirassy and advanced from the defensive line whenever Dortmund's centre-forward dropped back into midfield. Once they were down a man, Beck was the furthest-forward player for Heidenheim, who were now in a 4-4-1 formation.

The match & analysis:The match was barely 30 seconds old when Adeyemi was fed from the left and got a shot away from the right of the six-yard box, but was denied by Ramaj. The goalie inadvertently turned the ball towards Svensson, who missed on the follow-up from 11 metres out. The hosts subsequently succeeded in closing ranks and not allowing a high tempo to be generated. But they went a man down early on. Zivzivadze flew into a tackle with Nmecha with his studs up and was immediately shown a straight red card (22).

The second chance for BVB came directly afterwards: Svensson's cross from the left flank picked out the head of Guirassy in the box, but Ramaj cleared behind for a corner (24). Adeyemi could have made more from a move that he himself initiated precisely on the half-hour mark, but his shot was not successful. While the hosts defended the middle of the park well, opportunities arose down the wings. Couto might have halted his dribble against Föhrenbach, who had been substituted on early for the injured Föhrenbach, but he picked out Ryerson, who crossed from deep on the right and Guirassy headed home unstoppably to make it 1-0 in the 33rd minute.

On one occasion, Borussia left their opponents too much room. Honsak got a shot away from a central position 10 metres out following a short corner, but Bensebaini got in the line of fire and blocked decisively to turn the ball behind for a corner. Towards the end of the six minutes of stoppage time, BVB again went forward – again down the flank: Ryerson played a vertical ball to Adeyemi, who went past Gimber and then picked out the unmarked Beier in a centre-right position in the box, who was presented with an open goal. The half-time whistle sounded with a shot count of 7-2, 72% possession and a deserved 2-0 lead.

The action continued to take place very deep in the Heidenheim half in the second period. But after a loss of possession on the centre-circle, the hosts countered dangerously: Kobel did well to save Ibrahimovic's shot from around 20 metres (52). Heidenheim sat deep, the primary aim being not to concede a third goal, but also waited for lapses in concentration and chances to counter. 21 outfield players were mostly operating in an area of 10 metres maximum. The edge of the penalty area marked the “border”.

Efforts from Chukwuemeka and Nmecha (83) sailed narrowly over or wide of the goal (Guirassy, 90), but they were the only notable shooting opportunities.

Outlook:  The first English week of the season will continue in Turin on Tuesday evening (kick-off at 21:00 CEST) and end next Sunday with a home game against Wolfsburg, which will take place at the unusual kick-off time of 19:30 CEST.

Boris Rupert

Teams & goals

1. FC Heidenheim: Ramaj – Traoré, Mainka, Gimber (Busch, 46), Pacarada (Föhrenbach, 7) – Schöppner, Kerber – Ibrahimovic (Siersleben, 81), Beck (Conteh, 46), Honsak (Kaufmann, 70) – ZivzivadzeBor. Dortmund: Kobel – Ryerson (Özcan, 74), Anton, Bensebaini – Couto, Groß (Chukwuemeka, 65), Nmecha (Mane, 90+4), Svensson – Adeyemi (Bellingham, 65), Guirassy, Beier (Campbell, 74)Substitutes: Müller, Dorsch, Niehues, Schimmer – Meyer, Sabitzer, Kabar Goals: 0-1 Guirassy (Ryerson, 33), 0-2 Beier (Adeyemi, 45+6)Corners: 5-4 (2-1 at half-time), chance ratio: 2-5 (1-5)Referee: Zwayer (Berlin), red card: Zivzivadze (serious foul play, 22), yellow cards: Gimber, Schöppner – Adeyemi, RyersonAttendance: 15,000 (sold-out), weather: predominantly sunny, 21 degrees