Surprising findings in CL
Robust BVB slows down the super offensive
By Hendrik Buchheister, Newcastle
October 26, 2023, 7:03 a.m
With the deserved victory and a bit of luck at Newcastle United, Borussia Dortmund finally arrives in the Champions League. BVB proves its resilience and squad depth in the English rain.
The home crowd quickly made their way into the rainy night, and so only Dortmund joy remained in Newcastle’s St. James’ Park. The Borussia professionals jumped around on the pitch as if they had feathers under their football boots. From the guest block on the upper floor of the stadium, thousands of people expressed their love for them. Later, when the BVB team had disappeared into the catacombs, the fans sang about the competition that had brought them to the north-east of England that evening: “European Cup! Eu-Ro-Pa Cup!”
The game at Newcastle United was Dortmund’s third appearance in the Champions League this season, but after two disappointing attempts (0-2 at Paris Saint-Germain, 0-0 against AC Milan), the team is only 1: 0 success thanks to Felix Nmecha’s goal shortly before the break after an assist from the outstanding Nico Schlotterbeck. Suddenly BVB’s prospects in the demanding Group F are brilliant again. If they had lost in Newcastle, Dortmund would probably have had to prepare for the preliminary round exit. Thanks to the first success in the Champions League on English soil in ten years, back then under coach Jürgen Klopp, BVB is in second place with four points and has every chance of reaching the round of 16 again.
Resilience and happiness
The victory can be classified as an exclamation point. Newcastle have been establishing themselves as a top team since being taken over by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund two years ago. Coach Eddie Howe’s team has the best offense in the Premier League this season with 24 goals in nine games, including a recent 8-0 win against Sheffield United. In the first Champions League home game in 20 years, Newcastle beat Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 at St. James’ Park three weeks ago. The challenge for BVB was considerable, but they mastered it with class, resilience and a bit of luck.
Especially in the first half, the Dortmund team managed to calm down the Newcastle crowd, who had previously been classified as frightening. The team had a number of chances and could have been ahead by more than 1-0 at the break, and probably even should have been. After the event, coach Edin Terzić said that his team had delivered the “best playing performance” of the season in the first 45 minutes: “We managed to implement the things we set out to do very well Always pulled opponents out of positions and made the right decisions.”
“A bit of luck”
However, the longer the game lasted, the more Newcastle pressed for the equalizer. The strong Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel made several saves and hit the crossbar twice in the final phase to prevent the “Geordies”, as the residents of the city in northeast England call themselves, from celebrating the equalizer. “It’s not easy to defend a clean sheet here, but we did it. We really enjoyed it,” said Terzić, and he was happy to admit that “a bit of luck” also helped.
The Dortmunders achieved a success that lasted beyond the evening. BVB is often accused of a lack of competitive toughness and a tendency to buckle under difficult conditions, the best example being the lost championship on the last matchday of last season against Mainz 05. In Newcastle, the team countered such accusations by playing in the constant rain Dortmund journalist to a Newcastle employee: “We say usselig” – the desired result achieved despite personnel problems. Julian Brandt, last scorer in the 1-0 win against Werder Bremen, was unable to take part due to a calf injury, while full-back Julian Ryerson was absent due to illness. Shortly before half-time, captain Emre Can had to be replaced after a blow to his right thigh.
Bensebaini, Sabitzer and Özcan shine
The replacements did their job brilliantly. Ramy Bensebaini played in Ryerson’s place and frustrated Newcastle’s lively winger Miguel Almirón. Marcel Sabitzer made his first starting eleven appearance in six weeks for Brandt and played a good game directing the offensive. Can was replaced by Salih Özcan, who shone with an energetic performance in the defensive midfield.
Sports director Sebastian Kehl cited Özcan’s performance as proof of the depth of the Dortmund squad: “The coach always has the opportunity to react. Everyone wants to play and take advantage of their chance.” The fact that Nmecha, who came from VfL Wolfsburg, decided the game with his first goal for his new employer was also a sign of the variety of options in Dortmund’s squad. “He is in improving form and rewarded himself with a goal today,” said Kehl about the midfielder with a history in the Manchester City academy, in whom Newcastle were also interested in the summer.
Dortmund had been a mystery recently because they had achieved good results in the Bundesliga and were still unbeaten after eight games, but had shown little sparkle. Coach Terzić is trying to sell the recent achievements as a new pragmatism (“less sexy, more success”). The trip to St. James’ Park showed that BVB are indeed on the right track and may be able to improve on the tragically ended previous season. And, by the way: he finally arrived in the competition in the third Champions League game.