5-3 – BVB overcome Frankfurt on penalties | OneFootball

Latching on to a Mario Götze pass, Ansgar Knauff scored 1-0 in the seventh minute – of all people, it was the two ex-Borussians who set the tone in a tightly contested game, which BVB largely dominated for 70 minutes, but only really threatened once the second half had kicked off. Julian Brandt converted Julian Ryerson’s pass for an equaliser early in the second half – a historic moment: BVB’s 500th goal in the DFB-Pokal). There were chances for both sides, but no more goals even after extra time, so the game went to a penalty shoot-out, in which all four Dortmund takers scored, while Frankfurt missed two penalties.

The scenario:   The teams had reached the second round with wins over Engers and Essen respectively. Borussia had lost only one of eight league games against Eintracht since April 2021. The first two cup games had gone to the side from the Hesse, but the three most recent games to BVB.

Personnel matters:  Except for Emre Can and Julien Duranville, who are making further progress in training, and Ramy Bensebaini (back pain), the entire squad was available. Three days after the intense match against 1. FC Köln (1-0), head coach Niko Kovac made five changes: Jobe Bellingham, Julian Brandt, Maxi Beier, Marcel Sabitzer and Aaron Anselmino slipped into the starting eleven for Bensebaini (injured), Felix Nmecha, Pascal Groß, Carney Chukwuemeka and Serhou Guirassy (all on the bench).

Tactics:    It was a meeting of two teams with the same formation (3-4-3), but different approaches. SGE largely allowed BVB to have the ball, dropping deep, then switched into a 5-4-1, playing the ball fast and far forward when they won the ball, almost exclusively down the left-hand side. Borussia tried to keep a high line and press their opponents high up the pitch. Anton took the central position in the back three; Anselmino played on the right, Schlotterbeck on the left. Up front, BVB lined up just as they did in the Mainz match: without Guirassy, but with Beier centrally, and Adeyemi and Brandt slightly behind him.

The match & analysis:BVB were often camped in the Frankfurt half and created the first chance: Schlotterbeck played a diagonally ball towards Ryerson, who pulled the ball back to Adeyemi on the right of the penalty area. The BVB striker's shot flew narrowly wide of the left post in the 6th minute. Almost immediately, Eintracht scored the opener. After a long ball from Koch, Svensson headed back towards the centre, but unfortunately it fell right at the feet of Götze, who immediately found the run of Knauff, who stayed cool in front of Kobel and prodded the ball into the right corner on 7 minutes.

The Black & Yellows were not overawed by the early setback, and continued to play with a clear structure, upping the ante, and winning the majority of the duels. Anselmino in particular impressed with his commitment and assertiveness. The only problem was that BVB lacked the perfect timing for the final ball to break through the deep-lying and compact defensive block.

Anselmino, who had been booked, was replaced by Süle at half-time, but was soon celebrating his side’s quick equaliser: BVB settled on the left-hand side of the box, Bellingham created space by picking out Ryerson on the wing, who played a perfect cross to the far post. Brandt came on to the ball and slotted the ball home to make it 1-1 in the 48th minute. BVB were looking really good at this stage, and Süle created another big chance. With 58 minutes on the referee’s watch, Sabitzer was able to make good progress down the right with the ball at his feet, and he was able to find Adeyemi in the penalty area, but he could not beat Koch. It was a real chance!

After about an hour, Eintracht reminded Dortmund they were still in the contest, and so an intense game became a gripping one. Knauff got a shot at goal away under pressure, and forced Kobel into his first save in the 69th minute. Just under a quarter of an hour before the end of regulation time, Kovac brought on Guirassy with a clear message to score the second goal, if possible before the end of the 90 minutes. But it was Doan who hit the top of the crossbar in the 80th minute after Dortmund gave the ball away cheaply. Shortly afterwards, Uzun took aim at the BVB goal, but Kobel defended his net in the 81st minute. Frankfurt were finding too much free space for Dortmund’s liking. At the other end, substitute Fabio Silva almost scored the lucky punch at the beginning of injury time. He fired off a snapshot from the inside-left of the penalty area, but Zetterer got down in time to stop the shot. So the game went into extra-time, with Chukwuemeka and Nmecha taking to the field.

Kobel parried Chaibi’s sharp shot to keep BVB in the game in the 103rd minute in what remained an intense and open game, with Guirassy attempting a bicycle kick. In terms of shots on goal, Eintracht had the edge, with 17 to their opponents’ ten. And the fatigue noticeably began to set in for the Borussians, especially Svensson and Ryerson. Nevertheless, the team continued to have active phases in the Frankfurt half. On 115 minutes, Burkardt prodded a free-kick cross over the line to give Eintracht what they thought was a 2-1, but the linesman Thielert raised his flag – the right decision! At the other end, Schlotterbeck took aim from distance, but Zetterer tipped the ball around the post for a corner in the 117th minute.

So the tie went to penalties. Fabio Silva scored with conviction, while Süle and Chukwuemeka were less convincing. Doan fired over the bar. After Nmecha had safely slotted home his penalty, Chaibi had to score. But Kobel made the save! So BVB won the game 4-2 on penalties. What followed was a pure party atmosphere!

Outlook:  The draw for the last 16 will be made next Sunday (2 November), starting at 17:55 CET as part of the ZDF sports report. Next up for BVB is the Bundesliga away match at FC Augsburg on Friday (31 October, kick-off: 20:30 CET, live on Sky [Germany]).Boris Rupert

Teams & Goals

DFB-Pokal, 2nd roundEINTRACHT FRANKFURT – BORUSSIA DORTMUND 3-5 (0-0, 1-1, 1-1) aet