Borussia Dortmund are top of the Bundesliga, at least overnight. Erling Haaland scored a brace in the 3:1 win over Mainz 05, but the most impressive goal was scored by another player.
It took a surprisingly long 22 minutes for goal scorer Haaland to make his first real appearance – and then in a rather unfamiliar role. From the wing position, the striker, who had been missing for BVB recently due to injury, set up a good shooting opportunity for Meunier.
But it was by no means to be the striker’s last scene, especially as his team was already in the lead at that point without much help from the Norwegian. After a Meunier cross, Bell shot only at Stach, the ball landed in the back to Reus, who thundered into the right corner (3rd). It was the reward for an extremely dominant start by Dortmund, who, compared to the 2:1 against FC Augsburg, also had Can and Schulz in the starting line-up. Wolf and Witsel were forced to the bench, while Guerreiro was absent due to injury.
Mainz hardly find their feet – Niakhaté saves on the line
Mainz, on the other hand, were almost exclusively concerned with not falling significantly behind early on in the opening stages. The Rheinhessen side could hardly break free from their own half in a controlled manner. Coach Bo Svensson was forced to make two changes after the 1-2 loss to Union Berlin, as St. Juste was injured in the last game before the international break and Kohr received a yellow card. The recovered Niakhaté and Stach came into the starting eleven. The other two personnel changes came as a surprise: Young Tauer came in for Brosinski on the right, Burkardt was initially on the bench and Boetius was preferred.
Dortmund’s overwhelming visual superiority manifested itself in 80 per cent possession in the first half, but hardly in further scoring chances. Too often, the Black-Yellow team acted too awkwardly around the Mainz penalty area. More than Meunier’s shot after Haaland’s preparation (22nd) was not enough for a long time – until the last scene of the first period, in which BVB had a huge double chance: First Haaland, who was excellently set up by Malen, failed to beat Zentner, who reacted well, then Niakhaté saved from Bellingham on the line (45.+1). The goalkeeper and captain kept Mainz in the game.
Haaland with brute force from the spot
Shortly after the restart, however, Mainz’s defender and keeper were also powerless. Widmer elbowed the ball in his own penalty area, and after VAR intervention referee Daniel Schlager pointed to the spot – and Haaland converted with brute force into the middle (54.). Mainz only really reared back with a two-goal deficit and now presented Dortmund with a number of problems. The best chance in this phase was missed by Onisiwo, who lifted the ball over Kobel after a fine Barreiro pass, but also over the goal (62nd). Only a short time later, however, the lid was almost on the BVB victory, Hummels headed a Brandt corner only at the post (66.).
Burkardt creates suspense – but only briefly
But Dortmund could not sit back and relax, because Mainz simply did not give up despite visibly dwindling strength. Kobel initially made a strong save against Boetius (76th), but then had a large share in Mainz’s goal. The BVB keeper was tackled early and chipped the ball directly to his opponent. Tauer and Lee then passed the ball to substitute Burkardt, who tucked the ball past Kobel and once again created suspense in the final minutes (87th).
But Mainz did not have another chance to equalise, instead Haaland scored a brace: Bellingham stole the ball from the sloppy Widmer in the build-up, crossed to the Norwegian who was standing completely free – the 3:1, the final score (90.+4).
Dortmund are now top of the table, at least until the top match between Leverkusen and FC Bayern on Sunday, BVB have to go to the Bielefeld Alm next Saturday (15.30). Mainz, on the other hand, conceded their third defeat in a row and now plan to stop their negative streak next Friday (8.30 pm) against FC Augsburg.
