Eintracht thinks and scores: BVB has Haaland back and is looking to the top

Eintracht thinks and scores
BVB has Haaland back and is looking to the top

03/13/2022, 7:48 p.m

Dortmund uses one of the few chances that Bayern offer. After their draw, Borussia can reduce the gap to the leaders. In addition, the team can fall back on its Norwegian goal machine.

Borussia Dortmund vs Arminia Bielefeld 1:0 (1:0)

Borussia Dortmund draws new hope in the Bundesliga title fight. With a 1-0 (1-0) win over the severely decimated Bielefeld side, the Revierclub secured second place in the table and could reduce the gap to leaders Munich to four points with a win on Wednesday in the catch-up game at FSV Mainz 05. Accompanied by the return of striker Haaland, who came on in the 63rd minute after a seven-week forced break, Marius Wolf (21st minute) ensured the Revierclub’s deserved victory in front of 33,000 spectators at Signal Iduna Park. On the other hand, the Bielefeld team, who had to play without six professionals infected with the corona virus and also without coach Frank Kramer, are getting closer and closer to the relegation zone after the last three defeats in a row and are now in 15th place.

Borussia, which was also badly battered in terms of personnel, was missing a total of nine professionals and was without match practice for two weeks after the game in Mainz was canceled due to corona, had the chance to take the lead early on when Donyell Malen (8th) shot the post. However, she found it difficult to get into the game. Arminia, known for their defensive strength, initially caused problems for the favorites with robust defensive work and a respectable build-up game. But BVB’s first really effective combination put East Westphalia, who had been equal up to that point, behind. After an excellent pass from Jude Bellingham, Thorgan Harzard passed the ball directly to Wolf from the right wing, who sent the ball over the line from close range.

It was only with this lead that BVB took control of the game and pushed for the 2-0. Arminia hardly appeared on the offensive until the break. Dortmund’s emergency defence, which lacked three regulars in Mats Hummels, Thomas Meunier and Raphael Guerreiro, remained stable.

Even after the restart, BVB seemed closer to a second goal than Bielefeld to equalization. Attacker Malen was unlucky again when he hit the crossbar with a brilliant shot (59th). With the substitution of the two convalescents Haaland and Giovanni Reyna in the 63rd minute, coach Marco Rose wanted to liven up his team’s offensive game again. But the hoped-for effect did not materialize.

Eintracht Frankfurt vs. VfL Bochum 2: 1 (0: 1)

At the emotional farewell to club legend Jürgen Grabowski, Eintracht Frankfurt celebrated their first home win of the year. The Hessians came 2-1 (0-1) against VfL Bochum and celebrated their third competitive win. Sebastian Polter (19th minute) gave the promoted team the lead in front of 24,000 spectators, which Erhan Masovic (46th) equalized with an own goal shortly after the change. Daichi Kamada (52nd) scored the winning goal for Frankfurt, who climbed to ninth place in the Bundesliga with 37 points. Bochum remains eleventh with 32 points.

Before the kick-off, the Frankfurt team thought of their club legend Jürgen Grabowski, who died last Thursday at the age of 77. “Everyone has pictures in their heads, everyone has memories. Jürgen will never leave completely because we will always think back to him,” said the visibly moved Eintracht President Peter Fischer in the presence of Grabowski’s wife Helga about the former world and European champion.

After a minute’s silence, the ball rolled. Buoyed by the recent victories at Hertha BSC (4-1) and Betis Sevilla (2-1), the home side, who played with black armbands and started with the same formation for the third time in a row, got off to a better start . But it quickly became apparent: Against Bochum, who had changed six positions, the Hessians, where midfielders Sebastian Rode and Danny da Costa were out for a short time, initially lacked the necessary precision in the build-up.

So the first hit fell on the other side. Polter headed in a free-kick from Konstantinos Stafylidis. And VfL could have done better – even had to. After submission by ex-Frankfurter Danny Blum, Takuma Asano was completely free in the middle, but failed from five meters at the outstanding reacting Eintracht goalkeeper Kevin Trapp. Frankfurt, on the other hand, continued to struggle on the offensive. Only in the final minutes of the first half did coach Oliver Glasner’s team increase the pressure again, but VfL withstood it.

Only 55 seconds after the restart, the time had finally come. Bochum’s defender Masovic unhappily tackled a shot by Jesper Lindström and put the ball into his own net. Eintracht had turned the game five minutes later when Kamada completed a classy attack over several stations from close range. As a result, Bochum tried to find a suitable answer to the double strike, but the guests lacked penetrating power. Frankfurt was more dangerous, but slipped at the end. In the final phase, Trapp held the Eintracht victory.