Matchday 30
Dortmund (dpa) - Borussia Dortmund has consolidated the second place in the Bundesliga and has slowed Hertha BSC's flight for the time being.
Regardless of the unrest caused by the recent hairdressing affair of some professionals, the Revierclub took the 1: 0 (0: 0) a big step towards the Champions League. In the empty Signal Iduna Park, Emre Can (58.) ensured the deserved success of Borussia on Saturday, who has seven points ahead of fifth in four more season games. In contrast, the guests from Berlin had to accept the first loss under the direction of the new coach Bruno Labbadia after three wins and a draw.
There could be no question of undisturbed preparation for the game. Because Manuel Akanji and Jadon Sancho had their hair cut at home by a star hairdresser and thus violated the strict corona regulations, the German Football League had fined the two BVB players. Nevertheless, coach Lucien Favre put their trust in them and placed them in the starting XI. At least the unpleasant headlines didn't seem to have a negative impact on the team. BVB took over the directing from the start and gained more ball possession.
However, as in previous games under coach Labbadia, the Hertha defense proved to be well organized and only allowed one chance for BVB through Thorgan Hazard (21st) in the early stages. But the Belgian shot past from close range. The fact that BVB playmaker Julian Brandt missed the goal from around 16 meters two minutes later fitted into the picture of a Borussia, which was committed but not mandatory.
So the Berliners managed to keep the recent strong Dortmund offensive in check. On the other hand, Labbadia's plan to use pin counters to counterpunch did not work. Until the break, the Berliners had no chance of scoring, because the Dortmund team also showed no defensiveness. The entertainment value of the game was therefore initially manageable.
After the restart, Borussia continued to strive for more goals and was really close for the first time. But after a remarkable combination and pass from Hazard, Jadon Sancho missed the biggest chance of the game so far in the 51st minute and missed the goal from a few meters. And because the Berliners approached the BVB goal just five minutes later when Alexander Esswein came on as substitute in the first half, the game picked up speed after a long lead.
The opening goal of Borussia broke the spell. International player Can, who represented the suspended Mats Hummels as defense chief, was there after a header from Brandt and ended the attack with a considered shot from 14 meters into the lower right corner to 1: 0. Subsequently, Hertha gave up its defensive basic direction, but that did not make the BVB defense waver.