At the end of all their strength, an emergency eleven from Borussia Dortmund still set course for direct qualification for the round of 16 in the Champions League.
Despite nine failures, the tired BVB defeated the Austrian champions Sturm Graz on Tuesday with a late goal from joker Donyell Malen (85th) 1-0 (0-0). Nine points from four games mean an excellent starting position at the halfway point of the league phase with 36 teams.
The hosts, who ultimately won their seventh competitive home game of the season, did not capitalize on their superiority for a long time. Promising attacks too often lacked the decisive pass in front of 81,365 spectators in the sold-out Signal Iduna Park – until Malen, who came on as a substitute in the 68th minute, scored the redeeming goal.
For coach Nuri Sahin, the personnel situation had not eased a bit. In addition to the seven injured players that he confirmed as being out on Monday, Waldemar Anton and Julian Ryerson were also missing from the emergency squad. The battered team in the Leipzig game (2-1) had to fix it. “Our feeling of now is the basis for everything,” said Sahin before kick-off on “DAZN”.
Pascal Groß helped out again on the right back, Emre Can in central defense, Malen was once again the only seasoned professional on a BVB bench where some places remained unoccupied. Nevertheless: a victory was considered a duty. Marcel Sabitzer, who grew up in Graz, missed the first chance to score for the initially dominant hosts (6th). Maximilian Beier failed in the follow-up shot past goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen (15th).
SK Sturm, the confident league leaders in Austria but without a point after three Champions League games, looked at Dortmund's efforts and, after winning the ball, went straight into the attack – although Mika Biereth usually waited in vain for anything remotely usable. It wasn't until the 71st minute that he had a great chance to take the lead – he headed over the goal.
BVB lacked precision with the many passes into the opponent's penalty area. Sahin seemed dissatisfied and covered his face with his hands when Serhou Guirassy almost scored from a tight angle (29'). Jusuf Gazibegovic missed the first warning shot for Graz (31st).
BVB: Donyell painting as a stroke of luck
BVB didn't play compellingly enough, but had a great chance before the break. Beier moved into the penalty area from the right, let two opponents get out, he also beat the goalkeeper – but captain Otar Kiteischwili saved for Sturm on the line (43'). The 2.06 m tall Scherpen regularly grabbed Dortmund's many crosses.
There was no constant pressure in the second half either. BVB rarely got Guirassy properly involved in the game; Sabitzer's deflected shot rolled through the Graz six-yard box without finding a taker (55'). Sturm concentrated all his strength on defending, but showed from time to time that it was dangerous on the counterattack.
Sahin made his only high-quality substitution option for the last 20 minutes, bringing on Malen for Sabitzer. A stroke of luck.
