Borussia Dortmund – 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 4:2 (3:1)
Karim Adeyemi crowned a perfect week for him with another brace and shot Borussia Dortmund to the top of the Bundesliga table, at least for one night. Thanks in particular to two goals and an assist from the 22-year-old, BVB demystified the previous league leader 1. FC Heidenheim with a 4:2 (3:1) win and overtook the Swabians, who had previously been undefeated in five competitive matches this season.
Donyell Malen (12th minute), Adeyemi (17th/41st) and Emre Can (90th+3/handball penalty) also scored the first FCH goals in this Bundesliga season. The goals from Marvin Pieringer (39th) and Maximilian Breunig from a penalty (74th) were not enough for the guests, who only really put BVB under pressure in the final phase.
The Champions League finalists from the Ruhr region warmed up for their first Champions League appearance of the season on Wednesday at Club Brugge. This was particularly true for Adeyemi, who had already scored five goals in the two U21 international matches in the past few days and now overshadowed Serhou Guirassy’s season debut.
Adeyemi continues scoring streak
Former Stuttgart player Guirassy was in the starting eleven straight away after recovering from knee problems and shone in Dortmund’s third goal when he passed the ball through to Adeyemi, who was lurking behind him. Coach Nuri Şahin’s risky tactics paid off in Dortmund’s offensive spectacle.
As expected by his Heidenheim colleague Frank Schmidt, Dortmund stood extremely high and left only central defenders Niklas Süle and Waldemar Anton as cover in the build-up in the absence of the yellow-red suspended Nico Schlotterbeck. The hosts applied pressure early on and took the lead through Malen. For Heidenheim it was the first goal conceded this season.
© Lea Dohle
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Heidenheim did not manage to win the ball early on, which would have put BVB in trouble, although the hosts, especially in the person of Felix Nmecha, who played from the start, repeatedly invited the opponent to switch through sloppy passes or weak tackling. These initially remained unused. Instead, Dortmund increased their lead five minutes after taking the lead: Julian Brandt, who was playing as BVB captain for the first time, skilfully passed to Adeyemi, who scored with the confidence of previous U21 games.
BVB remains offensive even after taking the lead
Even after the two-goal lead, BVB coach Şahin stuck with the extremely high-positioned full-backs Julian Ryerson and Ramy Bensebaini. The hosts now took a more leisurely approach to the attack or were too imprecise, and Heidenheim had more periods of possession. After a good half hour, they were successful with high balls.
First, Pieringer headed the ball into the arms of Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel from a free position (36th minute), but did much better three minutes later with a header after a great cross from Omar Traoré and gave Dortmund their first goal of the season. But the guests continued to show major defensive problems and invited BVB to score more goals. Just two minutes after the lead, Adeyemi again restored the old lead.
Adeyemi: “Hoped I would score a third goal”
After the break, Dortmund countered in their own stadium. Adeyemi missed a great chance to score his third goal of the evening after about an hour. This came back to haunt him: substitute Breunig scored from the penalty spot after a Süle foul. Shortly before the end, BVB made it clear thanks to a handball penalty converted by substitute Can.
After the game, Adeyemi said on the streaming service DAZN: “I was actually hoping to score a third goal.” However, he was very happy about the two goals and even happier about the win. Despite the defeat, Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt was proud of his team’s performance: “We lost, which annoys us. But I think after the first 25 minutes, which were not good, we sold ourselves dearly.”
Bundesliga
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