With the late win against Sturm Graz, Borussia Dortmund has secured itself in the top group of the Champions League for the time being. The weakened BVB players also impressed with their high willingness to run.
BVB coach Nuri Sahin saw the 2-1 win over Leipzig before the Champions League duel with Sturm Graz as an important victory, “both for the table and for morale”. DAZN-Microphone titled. The conclusion could have been similar after the last 90 minutes, in which Borussia were only able to secure the decision shortly before the end.
“We controlled the game completely, except for the phase between the 60th and 70th minute. But you have to make it 1-0, then the door opens, we didn’t manage that,” said Sahin after the final whistle on Tuesday evening . In the meantime, his team did “actually really well” until they got to the box. “The plan worked completely again with the boys.”
Strong running values on both sides
In fact, the Dortmund team had created numerous dangerous chances, with 21:7 shots and a ball possession value of 66 percent, the statistics were also in BVB’s favor. Nevertheless, it took until the 85th minute before Joker Donyell Malen redeemed the black and yellow team – and rewarded them for their enormous effort.
“Hats off, really hats off,” said Sahin when confronted with the running values that both teams had achieved in Signal-Iduna-Park. Ultimately it was 124 kilometers for the home team, another four kilometers more for the guests. “They ran endlessly, that’s not normal,” acknowledged the 36-year-old.
Brandt and Guirassy “at the ready”
His team, which only had a single substitute player with Champions League experience due to the tense personnel situation in Malen, had to show full commitment even in the middle of the third English week in a row. “It is unavoidable,” explained Sahin, adding that “but it still requires a bit of sensitivity.”
“As a coach on the sidelines, you say ‘Yes, come on again, run again.’ But when I see Brandt there, he’s at his limit, Serhou (Guirassy, editor) is at his attack. You have to be a little careful.” The coach was all the more pleased that “we stayed clear, that we kept trying and pulled it off today.”
Schlotterbeck can divide up his forces “relatively easily”.
Meanwhile, Nico Schlotterbeck also gave special praise to the Black and Yellow offensive team. While it is “relatively easy” for him as a central defender to divide up his forces, “it is enormous for the boys up front: Serhou has to play every game, Jule (Brandt) has to play every game, Maxi (Beier) has marched twice now. “It’s not easy, I think you noticed in the second half that we ran an enormous amount of work against Leipzig three days ago,” said Schlotterbeck.
On a personal level, the defensive man also liked the fact that BVB managed to keep a clean slate for the first time since the 3-0 win in Bruges in mid-September. “In the end, I don’t care how we get the three points, we’ve finally kept a clean sheet for a long time.”
Schlotterbeck was “very happy with the defensive performance”, although “we were a bit shaky offensively in the second half. But in the end we took the 1-0 lead and went home happy.”
