Nuri Sahin was able to take a lot away from his team’s home win against St. Pauli. However, he was clearly displeased by one scene in particular.
The added time at the Signal-Iduna-Park had just begun, when Borussia Dortmund was threatened to be robbed of the supposedly deserved reward for a long stretch of overwhelmingly superior play against St. Pauli. The black and yellow had failed to defend a wide throw-in well twice. First, by allowing Jackson Irvine to head it in. Then, by allowing Adam Dzwigala to finish from six meters in front of the goal without being challenged.
“This is an issue that doesn’t work. We have to do better,” criticized Nuri Sahin after the final whistle on DAZN – and identified a pattern from the last few games: ”We conceded a goal against Celtic in a game where we didn’t defend well, we conceded a goal like that against Union – and now we’ve escaped again.” However, that didn’t change the BVB coach’s assessment after the 2-1 win: “I’m extremely annoyed by how we defend the throw-in.”
Sahin: “Scenes like this make all the difference”
The reason Sahin was particularly displeased was that such throw-ins had been explicitly addressed in advance. “We knew that Irvine was coming from the outside. It was clear to all of us that St. Pauli had long throw-ins,” the former midfield strategist complained, emphasizing the relevance of such supposedly small moments of carelessness: ‘Scenes like that make the difference in the end, whether I’m here with 13 or 11 points. That’s the step.’
A step that Dortmund will have to take during the week if they want to retain their place at the top of the table when they face Real Madrid on Tuesday evening. Or, as Sahin demands: “We have to stay focused. We have to deliver results every three days to be a top team. That’s what it’s about.”