Late victory against Cologne
Borussia Dortmund is struggling happily into the new season
08/19/2023, 8:26 p.m
In the first league game of the season, Donyell Malen cheated the ball late and with a lot of dizziness over the line. The guests have the better chances, especially in the second half. Little goes together with the runner-up. The three points still remain in Dortmund.
When it was somehow done in the end, Edin Terzić caught his breath. And patted his pooped savior Donyell Malen on the bald head with relief. 84 days after the terribly bitter end of the season, Borussia Dortmund had only just avoided another disappointment, at the start of the next title hunt there was a hard-fought 1-0 (0-0) against 1. FC Köln.
Malen (88th) scored very late to win the game, after a corner kick the vice-champion cracked the concentrated defending opponent. “We noticed that we’re not 100 percent yet,” said Dortmund’s captain Emre Can on Sky, “we didn’t play well, we have to improve, but in the end the three points count.” “Rhythm of the game” and “energy” were missing.
Just don’t “pant after”, Terzic had urged his team. In his opinion, the 2023 championship title was not lost on the dramatic May 27th, but in the early stages of last season with four defeats in the first ten games. The top priority now was to close the Jude-Bellingham vacuum. While every captured ball in the pre-season was dutifully delivered to the string puller, who has meanwhile switched to Real Madrid, now Bayern access Marcel Sabitzer was the first pass station. The further distribution was not yet smooth and too often on the wings.
Cologne misses the really big chance
Cologne, who started with three additions, including Luca Waldschmidt up front, retreated a long way under initial pressure from Dortmund – but then had the first big chance: a shot from Davie Selke, which Niklas Süle deflected from a tackle, landed on the crossbar (18th). . On the other hand, the extremely compact FC defense forced BVB from the middle to the flanks, where the attacks mostly lost their momentum. It was no comparison to Dortmund’s 6-1 spectacle in March. Only Julian Brandt had the opportunity to score a dangerous goal after an elegant acceptance at the edge of the penalty area, Marvin Schwäbe made a strong save (31′). Significantly, after 40 minutes Mats Hummels, who was not particularly feared as a sprinter, was the fastest BVB player.
With Terzic’s demand in mind to concede fewer than 34 goals this season (2022/23: 44), Dortmund’s creatives often put possession over risk. That made the build-up tough and fragmented, and the first fans whistled at half-time. The Cologne “stop sign” (Sky expert Lothar Matthäus) was also anchored in concrete afterwards, taking the Dortmund game in depth was enough in this phase. However, FC had to cope with the substitution of the injured striker Selke (52nd). Three minutes later, his replacement Sargis Adamyan failed from close range to BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
Dortmund didn’t come up with much in the densely populated areas. The inconspicuous target player Sebastian Haller gave up his place in attack for Youssoufa Moukoko, access Felix Nmecha should also show more offensive spirit on the six as the first alternative to Can. Like Marco Reus, Sabitzer rarely gave impetus. Instead, Dejan Ljubicic had the 0: 1 on the foot (75th). This wasted opportunity took revenge.