Distant curse broken
©IMAGO
Finally another away victory! With the 3-0 (1-0) victory over the double Croatian winner Dinamo Zagreb, Borussia Dortmund took a big step towards direct qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League. Goals from Jamie Gittens (41st minute), Ramy Bensebaini (56th) and Serhou Guirassy (90th) secured the first competitive away victory in over two months. However, national player Julian Brandt had to leave the field injured three days before the Bundesliga classic against FC Bayern Munich.
Dortmund last won an away match in Europe’s top class on September 18. At that time there was also a 3-0 victory against FC Brugge. After the well-deserved success against the passive team of former Bundesliga coach Nenad Bjelica, the finalist of the Champions League from the previous season remains the most successful German participant in this competition. With twelve points from five matches, coach Nuri Sahin’s team is fifth in the standings.
There were significant complaints from BVB fans around the match, who reported restrictive controls at the entrance to the stadium. « We condemn this form of control and are currently in contact with UEFA and Dinamo Zagreb in order to report and deal with the incidents, » the Bundesliga club wrote on the Internet platform X. The Dortmunder spoke of a » cross-border action by security services. « . Individual fans have reported checks in their intimate areas. Thus, some supporters would have had to undress in tents. The game was classified as a risky game by UEFA. “We can expect a very emotional and lively match on Wednesday,” Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl said before the match.
In fact, the approximately 25,000 spectators in the dilapidated Maksimir Stadium created a noisy atmosphere, which was hardly fueled by the pitch. The weakened Croats retreated far and acted very defensively. BVB had a lot of possession and quickly created chances. Bensebaini hits the crossbar with his head (8th). Almost 20 minutes later, Donyell Malen failed to hit the crossbar. However, with numerous attacks in the first half, the Westphalians could have done more.
Zagreb lost 9-2 to FC Bayern in September, but picked up seven points from the next three games. With a fairly inexperienced team, former Union Berlin coach Bjelica’s team was only looking for destruction against BVB this time. Shortly before the end of the first half, the ball came flying into the Croatian net. Zagreb goalkeeper Danijel Zagorac was ultimately powerless against a shot from around 14 meters after a previous solo from Gittens. Dinamo did not change their destructive style of play even after the change. After a corner from Pascal Groß, Bensebaini took advantage of a big defensive error by Dinamo with a header. The game was thus decided. BVB continued to play with confidence and experience, pulled back a bit and saved some of their energy for the match against Bayern. Zagreb was no longer dangerous. Shortly before the end, substitute Guirassy carried out a counter-attack until the final score.