The starting position was so clear for BVB, it was actually too clear. After Madrid’s 2-5 defeat, when Real swept over Borussia like a royal avalanche in the second half, the gods or the DFL’s schedule architects sent them to Augsburg, of all places. Away in Augsburg, there is now a pars pro toto not only among BVB fans for the club’s chronic weakness in solving unpleasant league tasks abroad. Dortmund had only won one of the last five games on Lech. Even though the warning lights flashed brighter than ever before, it was no use. Dortmund’s cloudy week is perfect, the autumn crisis is here.
The game started optimally from Borussia’s perspective. Striker Serhou Guirassy, who already had brilliant moments at the Bernabéu, prepared elegantly, Donyell Malen said thank you. But despite the high number of possessions, Dortmund didn’t get any real pressure on the opponent’s goal, FCA used their first counterattack because Nico Schlotterbeck lost his bearings too often and too easily against Alexis Claude-Maurice.
After the break, coach Sahin brought Pascal Groß into the game and Emre Can, replacing the apparently injured Waldemar Anton. And Can, who has long been the target of harsh criticism from individual Dortmund supporters, made a serious mistake. The captain unfortunately deflected Elvis Rexhbecaj’s cross at the feet of Claude-Maurice, who scored a brace into the far corner. From then on, Sahin’s team was off the hook, Julian Ryerson had to leave the field injured, the 18-year-old league newcomer Almugera Kabar came and was sent off with a yellow-red card shortly before the final whistle. Jamie Gittens still had a good chance, there was an incredible ten minutes of stoppage time, but BVB couldn’t do anything else.
Dortmund have not won any of their four league away games and lost three. Things will be uncomfortable for coach Sahin from now on – and the cup game in Wolfsburg on Tuesday will be particularly explosive.
RB Leipzig – SC Freiburg 3:1 (0:1), Tore: 0:1 Ritsu Doan (15th), 1:1 Willi Orban (47th), 2:1 Lutsharel Geertruida (58th), 3:1 Lois Openda (78th)
When two teams meet that can (at least temporarily) take over the top of the table with a win, it is called the top game – and both teams lived up to this claim. Initially it was the Freiburgers who announced their ambitions for the top spot. They achieved a lot in the first half hour, especially their in-form wingers Vincenzo Grifo and Ritsu Doan. Grifo crossed from the left to the far post, where Doan scored with a header – assist number five this season for the Italian, goal number four for the Japanese – and in the 15th minute the long-overdue opening goal for the sports club.
RB had to compensate for injury problems, after national player David Raum (ankle), Xavi Simons is the second long-term absence after he suffered a serious ankle injury in the Champions League against Liverpool during the week. Goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi also stayed out for the second half. But Leipzig fought their way back into the game.
After Benjamin Sesko failed in two big chances before the break against Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu, defender Willi Orban equalized shortly after the break. Then it was the strong Simons replacement Christoph Baumgartner who initiated Lutsharel Geertruida’s opening goal, presented by Lois Openda. While celebrating, the Leipzig team held up Raum and Simons jerseys.
They then managed the lead – and countered to make it 3-1 through Openda, in which Atubolu didn’t cut the happiest figure in his positional play. For now, only Leipzig is a top team in the Bundesliga. Freiburg can still become one.
VfB Stuttgart – Holstein Kiel 2:1 (1:0), Tore: 1:0 Deniz Undav (19.), 2:0 El Bilal Touré (61.), 2:1 Armin Gigovic (84.)
It’s already the eighth matchday, but Holstein Kiel is still scoring goals that are being conceded by clubs that have never played in the first division before. This time: a counterattack away from the favorites. After his own throw-in deep in the opponent’s half, Stuttgart’s El Bilal Touré, the celebrated winning scorer in the 1-0 win in Turin during the week, got the ball. And where a ripped-off team would have looked for a tactical foul, Kiel let the young man go through and onto Deniz Undav fit. He casually lobbed for the lead.
Kiel has already shown symptoms of being overwhelmed several times in league one, but coach Marcel Rapp’s team is obviously very aware of their own limitations and still manages to somehow stay in the game. Despite VfB’s complete dominance of the game, the score was only 0-1 at the break. But Touré, 23 years old on loan from Atalanta Bergamo, completed his perfect week shortly afterwards with a precise long-range strike. After Kiel lost the ball during the build-up, he came free to finish centrally and hit the ball next to the post.
Kiel, already against Leverkusen with a 2-2 after 0-2, did something for the image of the Unmissables when VfB goalkeeper Alexander Nübel had to prevent the goal. And then Stuttgart’s Jeff Chabot took himself out of the game. After an actually harmless foul, Chabot complained, saw yellow, continued complaining, and saw yellow-red. With the advantage, Holstein was suddenly really in the game and Armin Gigovic’s goal was not a coincidence, but the result of belief in the turnaround. It wasn’t until Fiete Arp was sent off in the 88th minute that the momentum ended. And Chabot in particular breathed a sigh of relief.
FC St. Pauli – VfL Wolfsburg 0:0
FC St. Pauli’s comeback season in the Bundesliga has so far been moderately successful, a surprise away win at SC Freiburg (3-0) is the exception, at least in terms of the results, there has been just as few a home win as there has been a goal in the own stadium. However, anyone who saw the newly promoted team play against Wolfsburg thought that there should actually be more to come. The underdog was the better team, played the opponent dizzy at times, the problem was the finish. Like in the 42nd minute, when captain Jackson Irvine came free to shoot at the end of a zigzag direct pass combination including a nice backheel pass from Carlo Boukhalfa, but finished too centrally.
In the second half, Wolfsburg, who had been completely disappointing up to that point, played a bit more at times and had chances; summer signing Mohamed Amoura proved his class. St. Pauli remained the better team in all statistics, but the most important thing was still missing in the end: a goal.
