Spielbericht Profis

A Sluggish Spring Afternoon

10.03.2014, 06:44 Uhr von: Redaktion

If I had to get across the match against SC Freiburg in one sentence, it would probably sound like this: A sluggish BVB hijacks three points from Breisgau. In fact, today's match was no treat for the eyes and could easily be described in a few sentences. You ask why? Because nothing really thrilling happened. But let's see how far we will come along.

Congenial to the long injury list, Robert Lewandowski (strained ACL) as well as Marco Reus (thigh problems) called in sick during the week. To complete the misery youngster Marvin Ducksch, who seems to have replaced Julian Schieber as backup for Lewandowski, will also be out for the next two weeks. This is why Julian Schieber was flushed into the starting XI and got another bite at the cherry and Kevin Großkreutz remained on the left wing. How would the Black and Yellow offense do without Robert Lewandowski?

In front of 24,000 spectators, skipper Sebastian Kehl scored the winner in minute 58. Unquestionable a curious goal, that made goalkeeper Oliver Baumann look not that good. With this victory Borussia Dortmund strenghten the second position and increase it's lead over Bayer Leverkusen to four points. SC Freiburg are still next to last, nevertheless their style of play raises their hopes for staying in the Bundesliga.

Statements

Sebastian Kehl: "It was a hard match. Freiburg did very well and we were not able to win out over them. The game was at eye level for a long time and all in all it was a lucky win. During the match I recognized that Oliver Baumann stood a bit to distant to his goal. Nevertheless it was a lucky goal. Jürgen Klopp often reminds us that we have to shoot to score goals. I was really excited because of the goal and the fact, that it secured three important points."

Mats Hummels: "It was a lucky win. It looked like a draw for a long time, because both teams didn't have that much scoring opportunities. It was a really huge step for us because the second position is all that matters to us. Sokratis could have been send off. A situation like this is always hard to decide for the referee."

Jürgen Klopp: "A though match. Freiburg was not able to create scoring opportunities although their style of play was superior. We scored a lucky winner. While the closing phase we had several fast breaks that would have allowed us to score a second or third goal. We didn't use these chances, this is why we had to work hard until the final whistle. A team that wins matches like this, is able to win the championship, but this is no longer possible.."

Highlights

Minute 6: Mkhitaryan is fouled 18 meters in front of the box. The taken free kick by Nuri Sahin is no problem for Oliver Baumann.

Minute 25: A corner by Jonathan Schmid from the right wing is deflected and Roman Weidenfeller nearly boxes the ball away with pain and misery, Freiburg's striker Zulechner is too surprised and shoots wide.

Minute 33: Armenian international Henrikh Mkhitaryan picks up his fifth yellow card due to a tactical foul. He will miss the match against Borussia Mönchengladbach next weekend.

Minute 43: The most controversional situation of the whole match. Sokratis fouls Zulechner and is simultaneously the last man before the striker reaches Weidenfeller's goal. Referee Peter Gagelmann yellow-cards the central defender and the spectators rage. In all fairness one has to admit, that a straight red card would not have been overblown.

Minute 49: Borussia Dortmund starts a little bit more determined. Schmelzer delivers the ball to Schieber who shoots fractionally wide from the left side of the box.

Minute 58: Sebastian Kehl scores the go-ahead goal. The ball reaches Kehl via Kevin Großkreutz and Julian Schieber who scores from a centered position, probably 27 meters in front of the goal. The scoop passes Oliver Baumann, who does not cut a fine figure.

Minute 73: Mehmedi, the most striking player from Freiburg, moves to the center from the left wing and sidesteps several Black and Yellow players. Fortunately he forgets to shoot. In the following Fernandes shoots wide.

Minute 88: Aubameyang is able to run square Oliver Baumann after a counterattack. His (bad) cross is missed by Kevin Großkreutz and Jonas Hofmann fires wide. This could have been the decision.

Minute 89: Henrikh Mkhitaryan frivols away another promising counterattack.

Conclusion

Borussia Dortmund nearly struggled today. In a tactical shaped match both teams tried to keep it tight, as a consequence of this both teams lacked scoring opportunities. Julian Schieber showed once more, that he cannot touch Robert Lewandowski. His style of play honestly does not fit to BVB that well. As already mentioned before, the lucky win against Freiburg could be worth a mint in the end. Nevertheless an increased performance will be necessary to secure three points in Westfalenstadion against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Hopefully Lewandowski and Reus will reinforce our squad.