Borussia Dortmund suffered the next setback in the title race a week after their defeat against FC Bayern: On matchday 15, BVB did not get past 1-1 (0: 1) in the small derby at VfL Bochum.
In front of 13,799 spectators in the Ruhrstadion, Sebastian Polter scored the home side’s lead with a penalty kick before the break (40th). BVB, who had to do without their suspended head coach Marco Rose on the bench, missed a dozen of the best chances to score and at least got a well-deserved draw shortly before the end thanks to substitute Julian Brandt (85th).
After BVB’s first draw this season and Bayern’s victory against Mainz (2: 1), Munich’s autumn championship is six points ahead of Dortmund.
BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel had initiated the Bochum leadership with his foul on Christopher Antwi-Adjej and accepted the faux pas after the game Sky completely on his cap. “I noticed shortly before that it was going to be close. That sucks, of course, it puts the team in a shitty position. I definitely have to do better, the action is clearly on my head.”
Co-trainer Alexander Zickler, who represented Rose together with Rene Maric, said about the deficit on the top of the table: “We will definitely not stick up. Yes, there are a few more points now. We just have to do our homework and stick with it a game like today, you have to win that. “
On the other hand, no one wanted to grieve at VfL, despite the late equalization. “It feels like a win,” said captain Anthony Losilla at Sky. “We would have expected that we could do it against Dortmund? BVB had a lot of chances and we can be happy that we took the point. So we are happy to take it with us, because that was a great performance from us.”
Bochum – BVB: The analysis
Bochum with the self-confidence of the last victories cheeky and courageous from the start. The hosts started Dortmund high in the field, partly on and in the opponent’s penalty area and also pushed through to keeper Kobel. Dortmund therefore had problems in the deep build-up and in the start phase in their own possession without a real connection between defense and attack, because many balls simply flew high over midfield.
Nevertheless, after a good quarter of an hour, BVB had the first big chance after serious mistakes in the Bochum construction. But first Manuel Riemann ironed out his own mistake, then he held up extremely strong against Jude Bellingham.
Dortmund got the previously somewhat hectic game in the middle of the first half under control and adjusted better to the aggressive pressing. On the other hand, Bochum acted a little more cautiously after the two warning shots, varied his pressing and sometimes played with long balls in the top when in possession of the ball.
Even under the changed circumstances, Dortmund remained the clearly superior team, creating very variable additional chances – only the efficiency was completely lacking for the guests. Bochum, on the other hand, immediately mercilessly exploited the guests’ initial uncertainty. After Antwi-Adjej’s breakthrough, Kobel fouled completely over-motivated at the corner of the penalty area, Polter used the penalty to take the lead.
Dortmund came out of the dressing room unchanged in terms of personnel, but again much more sharply – and initially just continued with the usury of opportunities: After seven minutes, BVB had given five, in some cases the clearest, entry opportunities. The VAR or referee Matthias Jöllenbeck conceded Marius Wolf’s alleged equalizer.
Dortmund continued undeterred, pushed vehemently and forgot to score goals for all their towering superiority. BVB left almost an absurd number of options, again and again a few centimeters were missing or a Bochum leg blocked, if necessary also on the line.
BVB changed something in the middle of the second half, ordered even more players on Bochum’s last line and only had Emre Can secured centrally. Bochum switched to 5-4-1 in the final phase and almost exclusively holed up on their own penalty area.
Julian Brandt then managed the almost impossible shortly before the end and brought the ball past Riemann over the line. Dortmund went straight for victory in the last few minutes, but was too cumbersome and had to be content with a draw despite 20: 5 shots on goal.
Bochum’s keeper held almost everything: with his fists, with his chest, with his feet. No matter where BVB was aiming, Riemann was there. Only Brandt was able to overcome the otherwise excellent goalkeeper. Incidentally, he was also lucky enough that his big mistake didn’t backfire when the score was 0-0 …
The flop of the game: Gregor Kobel (BVB)
Dortmund’s goalkeeper was hardly ever challenged by Bochum and was then reliably on the spot in 99 percent of the cases. But Kobel’s over-motivated running out of an inherently harmless scene including the clear foul was this one mistake that can decide a game – and ultimately meant two lost points. Incidentally, Kobel’s first serious mistake in his time in Dortmund.
The referee: Matthias Jöllenbeck
Was right in all important decisions. Recognizing Wolf’s goal because of Bellingham’s offside position was a tough decision from Dortmund’s point of view, but it was definitely covered by the rules. Well dosed with the personal punishments and with a pleasant, calm game management.
