Borussia Dortmund have been in a position to construct upon their victory in opposition to RB Leipzig on Saturday night as they overcame Austrian champions SK Sturm Graz 1-0 on the Westfalenstadion.
Nevertheless, from the primary whistle, it grew to become obvious that the guests weren’t going to supply Nuri Şahin’s aspect a simple trip on their hunt for a 3rd win within the Champions League.
Regardless of registering 13 photographs within the first half, as per Fbref, Die Schwarzgelben have been unable to discover a well beyond the on-loan Brighton & Hove Albion goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen, having struggled to generate any clear probabilities.
After the interval, whereas the house followers would have hoped to see some improved high quality, Dortmund’s efficiency would finally stay largely the identical.
Whereas BvB often progressed the ball into the attacking third, as soon as they reached the sting of the Sturm Graz penalty field, they appeared sluggish, sluggish, and sloppy, concurrently boosting the Austrian sides’ confidence.
As Sturm Graz started to extend their attacking output, they’d threatened to be the aspect to take all three factors, till a poor defensive mistake was pounced upon by Die Schwarzgelben, leading to Serhou Guirassy sliding Donyell Malen in to seal the win for Şahin’s aspect.
Having returned to profitable methods in opposition to RB Leipzig on the weekend, Dortmund would have been hoping to proceed their momentum in opposition to their Austrian opponents.
Whereas they have been removed from their finest—which remains to be arguably an unknown product—a second successive victory will solely play in BvB’s favour as they appear to rebuild their marketing campaign after a disappointing begin.
Borussia Dortmund XI:
Alexander Meyer (5), Pascal Groß (5), Emre Can (5), Nico Schlotterbeck (5), Ramy Bensebaini (6), Felix Nmecha (5), Marcel Sabitzer (4), Julian Brandt (4), Maximilian Beier (4), Jamie Gittens (4), Serhou Guirassy (5)
Others: Ayman Azhil (-), Donyell Malen (6), Cole Campbell (4)
GGFN Man of the Match: Donyell Malen (6)
On a night that noticed only a few fireworks fly on the Westfalenstadion, the tie had threatened to play out with out anybody stepping as much as the plate.
Nevertheless, over the previous two years, when in want, Dortmund have usually been in a position to name upon Donyell Malen.
Having began the evening on the Dortmund bench, it was clear to see that the Black and Yellow’s have been lacking the Dutchman and his high quality and composure within the closing third.
In an analogous method to his teammates, Malen’s efficiency was removed from scintillating, however all he wanted was one probability to place the sport to mattress, and it was a possibility he took successfully, making certain he supplied the spark required to see Dortmund over the road.
GGFN | Will Shopland
