There weren’t any fans who had traveled with them, whom the Borussia Dortmund pros could have thanked. Nevertheless, no second-placed footballer was drawn into the catacombs of the Frankfurt Arena so quickly afterwards. In a spectacular Bundesliga match, the Westphalians turned a 0: 2 into a 3: 2 success that was hardly thought possible. Instead of repeating the eternal debate about the Dortmund mentality, the discussion is now about whether something is still possible in the championship fight, because Bayern’s first pursuer has reduced the gap to six points.
Coach Marco Rose regretted that there were no fans in the stadium, but was pleased with the attitude of his team: “That was an example of how it should look.” When it comes to attitude, he is now calling for sustainability: “I hope that this win will give us something. Ideally, against Freiburg on Friday.” They are now “a little closer to the front”, but he saw no reason for a real challenge to the record champions. The error rate of his ensemble at the beginning of the second half of the season was still too high – but of course this success conveys a lot of self-confidence.
After a double strike from Rafael Borré (15th and 24th), Eintracht had already set course for the Champions League places before Thorgan Hazard (71st), Jude Bellingham (86th) and Mahmoud Dahoud (89th) caught up in an entertaining top game. “We achieved a great, emotional victory,” said BVB spokesman Mats Hummels, who did not want to overlook the weaknesses. “We concede our goals too easily. If we want to have a chance at something, we have to create stability. And if we want to win something this season, we need the energy level of the second half over 90 minutes.”
Dortmund’s last victory in the Main metropolis was dated September 1, 2013 – at that time with Henrikh Mkhitaryan as a double goal scorer. After the defeats at the end of the first half of the season against FC Bayern (2: 3) and at Hertha BSC (2: 3), Borussia showed the hoped-for defiant reaction. “As a team, we believed in this win, and we did a great job,” said Emre Can.
On the Frankfurt side, the second half in particular puzzled those responsible. “We have to reproach ourselves for wanting to manage – we were punished for that,” admitted Eintracht coach Oliver Glasner. From his point of view, the turning point had emerged, because: “We behaved like the rabbit in front of the snake and played back far too often.” Seasoned Timothy Chandler was similarly self-critical: “We played the second half completely without a head – and also without strength and power.”
Dortmund loses control of the game in Frankfurt
BVB got off to a good start in this open-sighted game when Hummels played a Franz Beckenbauer memory pass to the advanced full-back Thomas Meunier, but after his shot, Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp turned the ball around the post with a fantastic save (2.) . The initial control of the game was carelessly thrown away by the guests in the first half like schoolchildren threw a snowball in the snow-covered Frankfurt city forest. It was enough after a quarter of an hour a not particularly tricky free-kick cross from Filip Kostic, after which the Colombian Borré quickly steered the ball over the line to make it 1-0 – BVB keeper Gregor Kobel did not look particularly good.
In the period that followed, the Hessians increased to 2-0 with Dortmund’s help. First Meunier made a hair-raising slip in the build-up of the game, then of all things, captain Marco Reus made a serious mistake – and Borré scored his second goal. The tricky offensive man only cheered in front of a banner with the Eintracht legend Jürgen Grabowski, whose likeness was stretched across the deserted back straight with other idols.
Frankfurt’s Lindström leaves the 3-0 against BVB
With a shot from the post by Evan Ndicka (29th), the 3-0 would have been possible for the unleashed Frankfurt, who continued the run towards the end of the first half of the first half. Luck only, when Trapp again rescued outstandingly against a Hummels header, then Donyell Malen maneuvered the ball from close distance to the goal frame (45th + 2).
Immediately after the restart, Jesper Lindström, who was initially isolated at the beginning of the week due to slight abnormalities, but after repeated negative test results, made his big appearance when the Danish international overran the Dortmund defense and checked goalkeeper Kobel (47th). But soon Kobel’s people in front finally worked their way into the encounter. And suddenly the long, pale Erling Haaland, who gave the template for the connection gate from Hazard, was at operating temperature. After that, Borussia stayed on the accelerator: First midfielder Bellingham headed the equalizer, then his midfielder Dahoud slid the ball into the corner just beyond the edge of the penalty area.
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