DORTMUND (dpa-AFX) - After a fortunate win against relegation candidate 1. FC Heidenheim, Borussia Dortmund has launched its chase for FC Bayern Munich. "It's six points, we want to attack now. We're trying to be there. Maybe Bayern will start to think twice now," said national player Nico Schlotterbeck after the 3-2 (1-1) victory over the bottom-placed team, who had temporarily taken a 2-1 lead.
Of all people, crisis-stricken striker Serhou Guirassy has given Borussia Dortmund renewed hope in the Bundesliga title race with a brace. The out-of-form Guirassy turned the game around with two quick goals (68th minute/hand penalty, 70th), although he also missed another penalty (85th). Notably, Schlotterbeck had initially grabbed the ball for the spot kick, but then handed it to Guirassy and encouraged the crowd to cheer him on.
"I asked Serhou if he wanted to take the shot and he said yes," explained the BVB defender about the scene before the 2-2 equalizer. Just two minutes after converting the penalty, Guirassy netted the 3-2 winner. Waldemar Anton (44') had previously put Dortmund ahead, but Heidenheim's Julian Niehues, also with a brace (45'+5/48'), had allowed the underdogs to dream of a major upset.
No matter how: Dortmund capitalizes on Bayern's slip-ups
In the end, the visitors remained winless for two months. Coach Frank Schmidt's team now trails the relegation play-off spot by five points. "It's a crap result for us. We didn't deserve this defeat. It was lucky for Dortmund. BVB came back from nowhere. We dominated for long stretches in the second half. A 3-3 would have been a fair result," said Heidenheim's Schmidt after the match.
The story was different for BVB, the Bundesliga team with the longest unbeaten streak. With 45 points from 20 games, the Westphalians are in their best position in years. Dortmund also took advantage of two slip-ups by league leaders Munich against Augsburg (1-2) and HSV (2-2), reducing the gap from eleven to six points within a week.
Despite Dortmund's strong position in the table, the game once again left much to be desired. The first half, in particular, was a struggle for the 81,365 spectators. Dortmund played without any spark against the bottom side. There was barely a recognizable offensive plan. The first chance of the match even fell to the modest visitors. But Eren Dinkci seemed too surprised when the ball landed at his feet in the penalty area after nearly half an hour. The SC Freiburg loanee pushed the ball straight into the arms of BVB keeper Gregor Kobel.
Long period of weak BVB play
On the other side, Guirassy had a great chance to end his goal drought just over ten minutes later. The Guinean, however, chipped the ball onto the crossbar. Despite his ongoing slump in form, Guirassy was given another start and played a part in BVB's opening goal.
The former Dortmund player Diant Ramaj, now Heidenheim's goalkeeper, was so distracted by the striker after a corner that he dropped the ball, allowing Anton to slot it home. However, the somewhat fortunate lead did not last until halftime. Heidenheim's Mathias Honsak drove the ball forward and also benefited from an injury to Filippo Mané, who had to abandon a sprint duel and was substituted at halftime. In the penalty area, Niehues finished at the second attempt, falling as he did so.
When Heidenheim took the lead, the stadium erupted
And after the break, things got even worse. Niehues again put the big underdogs ahead with a powerful long-range shot. The result was a furious chorus of boos, especially from the fans on the south stand. What stood out for the hosts was their continued sloppy passing, something Kovac had criticized weeks ago.
Kovac responded to the setback by bringing on Maximilian Beier and Carney Chuwuemeka. However, the attacking efforts were much too cumbersome and at times too selfish. The boos grew louder, but after 67 minutes turned to cheers when referee Jöllenbeck, following a VAR intervention, awarded BVB a handball penalty. In the absence of ill captain Emre Can, Guirassy stepped up and scored the equalizer.
This seemed to energize the striker, who had scored only once in the new year until then. With the next attack, the 29-year-old fired Dortmund into a fortunate lead, after which the team played with more freedom. Guirassy, however, missed the chance to seal the game in the closing stages, sending a penalty over the bar./lap/DP/zb
