Can and Chukwuemeka: two standouts as two points dropped in Hamburg | OneFootball

For the first time since 26 April, and thus for the first time in 196 days, Emre Can led his team onto the pitch as captain. Back then, BVB picked up a 3-2 away win in Hoffenheim thanks to a goal from Waldemar Anton in the fifth minute of stoppage time. In Hamburg, there was an even later goal – in the 97th minute – to make it 1-1 for HSV.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to hold on to the win,” said the 31-year-old in an interview with BVB-TV, adding: “We had a decent game. But it wasn’t all good. We need to be more clinical. After going 1-0 up, we didn’t play such good football and hardly had any periods of possession. We definitely need to improve in that regard.”

Much of this can be explained. Nevertheless, it remains frustrating when, in the most intense phase of the season, in the last of almost 700 minutes played in just 22 days, including extra time and a penalty shoot-out in the victorious cup match in Frankfurt and six away trips, you end up dropping two points. The team allowed “a few too many crosses,” complained their captain, adding: “They seemed to get ten men in the penalty area in the last minute – it was very, very hard to take and very, very disappointing.”

Can himself was right in the thick of it when Königsdörffer headed in to make it 1-1. “I couldn't get there,” he lamented. Yet after a long five-month absence, he had put in a strong performance at the centre of the back three. His lack of match practice was not noticeable. The BVB captain played almost flawlessly and won an outstanding 90% of his tackles. He said he felt “a few aches and pains” in his first 90-minute appearance after the long break: “Nevertheless, it’s a great feeling to be back after the long rehab. I’ve never been out for so long in my career, so I wish every injured player all the best. I hope everyone gets well again and that I stay healthy now.”

Carney Chukwuemeka also made a positive impression. The young Englishman was the player with the most shots on goal (four) and thus it made sense he was the goalscorer for BVB. After scoring once last season in Freiburg, it was the 22-year-old’s second Bundesliga goal. He also won 56% of his challenges at the Volksparkstadion. “Schlotti controlled the ball well with his head and I saw the chance to shoot. Thank God the ball went in. I was very happy,” he told BVB-TV. It could have been the winning goal, the third 1-0 win in a row for BVB in the league. But after Königsdörffer’s last-minute equaliser, Chukwuemeka was also left disappointed: “Super frustrating! I think it’s down to us. We stopped playing after the first goal. That wasn’t good enough.”

Not good enough as a team. But two individuals stood out in particular: Emre Can and Carney Chukwuemeka.Boris Rupert