Even though it was enough to win again against bottom team Greuther Fürth after two setbacks, nobody at Borussia Dortmund was really satisfied.
Even the second and third goals in the final phase could only somewhat conceal Borussia Dortmund’s performance in the 80 minutes beforehand: The 3-0 win over bottom side Greuther Fürth, which was only in line with the result, prompted justified self-criticism from the professionals after the game.
Fürth made life difficult for Dortmund
“It was not a pretty game,” said keeper Gregor Kobel, who hardly had to intervene but saw the ball sail through his penalty area more often than he would have liked. The brash promoted team from Franconia, which got a noticeable boost at the weekend with its first win of the season, made life difficult for BVB.
By consistently shifting the ball, the visitors often created an advantage near the ball, put the Dortmund professionals under pressure – and they handled it badly. Thus, the first 30 minutes were a festival of mistakes for BVB, who hardly had any dangerous chances in front of the opponent’s goal. A disallowed goal by Thorgan Hazard was the most conspicuous action before the opening goal from a penalty kick.
The game was too inconsistent. We made too many simple mistakes.
“We looked erratic, not fresh, physically not up to it. The game was too inconsistent. We made too many simple mistakes,” said coach Marco Rose, who, like his entire team, was happy that Fürth did not play well in the transition situations that did exist, and that this was the only reason why they did not make more dangerous pinpricks. The fact that Jude Bellingham could well have been sent off before the break with a yellow card was an added bonus.
BVB break two records
Only after Erling Haaland’s second goal, also from a standard situation, was the will of the brave outsiders broken, and Julian Brandt’s second assist for Donyell Malen, who had just come on as a substitute, even ensured a clear, but also too clear, final result.
“After the last two Bundesliga games, it was important to get three points again,” Kobel emphasised and admitted: “You can discuss the manner in which we did it. Despite all the justified criticism, BVB also had two records to be happy about: the 24th win in the calendar year is a record in the club’s history, previously held by the 2012 double-winning team. And: For Haaland, it was goals 29 and 30 in the league this year – no one in a BVB jersey has been better so far.