VAR drama in Hoffenheim, BVB lose late | OneFootball

Two handballs, two VAR reviews, two goals by Kramaric. Borussia Dortmund lost 2-1 (1-0) away to TSG Hoffenheim. Kramaric put the team from Kraichgau ahead in the 42nd minute. Guirassy equalized late in the 87th minute. In the eighth minute of stoppage time, Kramaric scored the winner from the spot once again.

There were three changes to BVB’s starting lineup compared to the 0-1 home defeat against Bayer Leverkusen: Beier, Süle and Chukwuemeka started in place of Guirassy, Bensebaini and Brandt (all on the bench). Süle was in the starting eleven for the first time in more than two months.

The match started at a furious pace. After just a few seconds, Asllani had the first effort, but Dortmund’s defense managed to clear it. Hoffenheim kept up the pressure, though. In the sixth minute, a bouncing shot from Lemperle crashed against the crossbar. With early pressing, TSG put Borussia under pressure. The Black-and-Yellows tried to relieve the pressure with long balls.

A scary moment for BVB came in the 10th minute when Ryerson and Kobel collided. After a short spell of treatment, the goalkeeper was back on his feet and play continued. The visitors also announced themselves in the game after a quarter of an hour with a header from Svensson, but it went over the bar.

After 20 minutes, the match took a brief breather. Fábio Silva at one end (25th minute) and Kramaric at the other (27th) had the next chances to score.

Double bad luck for Dortmund in the 37th minute. When Kramaric took a shot, Süle slipped in his own penalty area and had to leave the pitch injured. Since the BVB defender had handled the ball with his arm as he fell, referee Siebert awarded a penalty for handball after reviewing the footage. Kramaric fired the ball unstoppably into the right corner to make it 1-0, leaving Kobel with no chance (42'). Bensebaini replaced Süle.

Hoffenheim then dropped deeper and took their lead into the break.

Photo: Getty Images

Late decision

Westphalia’s side started the second half with intent and pushed Hoffenheim deep into their own half. But BVB failed to produce a dangerous finish against the tightly packed Kraichgau defense. After an hour, Guirassy came on for Fábio Silva to inject new life into the attack.

But it was TSG who came closer to scoring in the 63rd minute. Following a corner, Kabak headed toward the near post. Kobel was there, however, and made a strong save.

Dortmund coach Kovac added more attacking options in the 71st minute, bringing on Brandt and the young Inácio. That was urgently needed, because the black-and-yellow attack lacked the necessary cutting edge.

Up until the 87th minute, Borussia had still registered exactly zero shots on target. Then Guirassy struck. The BVB center-forward spun and hammered the ball into the bottom-left corner from 18 meters out to make it 1-1. The equalizer had not really been coming.

The Black-and-Yellows now pushed on. Baumann tipped Beier’s shot behind for a corner, but it came to nothing (90+1). Just when everything pointed to a draw, the referee pointed to the spot again. Ryerson had been struck on the arm by the ball from close range. Kramaric sent the ball left, Kobel dived right: 2-1 for Hoffenheim (90+8).

In the 12th minute of stoppage time, Brandt had a chance to make it 2-2 from a free kick. But his shot flew over the bar.

Conclusion: Borussia Dortmund offered almost nothing in attack, especially in the first half. BVB did improve after the break, but still created hardly any chances. Guirassy’s equalizer was their first shot on target. Hoffenheim were disciplined and allowed very little.

BVB: Kobel – Süle (42' Bensebaini), Anton, Schlotterbeck – Ryerson, Bellingham, Sabitzer (71' Inácio), Svensson (71' Brandt) – Chukwuemeka, Beier – Fábio Silva (60' Guirassy)

Hoffenheim: Baumann – Coufal, Kabak, Hajdari, Bernardo (72' Hranac) – Avdullahu – Kramaric, Burger (60' Prömel) – Lemperle (82' Moerstedt), Asllani, Touré (60' Prass)

Goals: 1-0 Kramaric (42', handball penalty), 1-1 Guirassy (87'), 2-1 Kramaric (90+8, handball penalty)

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