Dortmund’s defeat and Stuttgart’s triumph

 

(dpa) Strong start, very bitter end – Borussia Dortmund also missed a surprise in the new edition of the Champions League final against Real Madrid. Almost five months after the unfortunate 2-0 defeat in the showdown at Wembley, the previous league leaders lost 5-2 to the defending champions from Spain in the third preliminary round game.

Unlike most recently in the Bundesliga, BVB performed courageously in the first half in front of 85,000 spectators at the Bernabéu football temple and were able to claim their first win after two goals from Donyell Malen (30th minute) and Jamie Gittens (34th). Spanish record champions hope. But the defending champions hit back in inimitable style and turned the game around with goals from Antonio Rüdiger (60th), Vinícius Júnior (62nd/86th/93rd) and Lucas Vázquez (83rd).

“In the second half we just didn’t show the same face. We just stopped playing,” said BVB midfielder Felix Nmecha on Amazon Prime. «We know how Real is at home. They clean everything up.”

Despite the crushing defeat at the end, Borussia’s starting position remains acceptable after the successful start to the competition with victories over Bruges (3:0) and Celtic Glasgow (7:1). The next opponent is Sturm Graz on November 5th in Dortmund.

Dortmund plays cleverly at first

BVB coach Nuri Sahin showed courage with the favorites and banned previous regulars Waldemar Anton, Pascal Gross and Emre Can from the starting line-up. Niklas Süle, Nmecha and Gittens, who were brought into the team, should provide new momentum after the recent weak Bundesliga games.

In front of Dortmund’s previous coach Edin Terzic, who watched the game as a fan, BVB started with enthusiasm and had the first goal early on. However, Serhou Guirassy’s shot was too central to cause problems for Thibaut Courtois in the hosts’ goal. On the other side, Nmecha blocked superstar Kylian Mbappé’s first promising attempt.

Borussia did it cleverly. Dortmund repeatedly held the ball for a long time and thus exercised control of the game. That paid off. The Revierclub avoided mistakes by being too hectic in the build-up game, hardly letting Real get into transition situations and taking advantage of the few chances they had.

After a mistake by Vázquez in the Real penalty area, Guirassy held the ball strongly with his back to the goal. The center forward made a precise pass to Malen and the Dutchman made the BVB fans who had traveled with him cheer. And things got even better for the Black and Yellows. Malen broke through on the right, passed flat into the middle, where Gittens escaped the Madrid defense and scored to make it 2-0.

Real shows a furious reaction

Now things got wild. Real responded with furious attacks. Within a few seconds, first Rodrygo and then ex-Dortmund Jew Bellingham hit the crossbar (29th). On the other side, Julian Brandt failed with a powerful long-range shot past Courtois.

After the break, Real increased the pressure. Sahin brought in an additional defender in Anton for winger Gittens, but it didn’t help. The hosts equalized with two goals within a very short time. First the German international Rüdiger hit his head from close range, then Vinícius Júnior completed an attack after involuntary preparatory work by Nico Schlotterbeck to make it 2-2.

BVB seemed morally hit, Madrid was on the rise. Dortmund could no longer begin to build on the controlled performance of the first 45 minutes. Almost logically, Real won the game in the final phase with three goals. Vinícius Júnior became the match winner. “That’s simply why they are the champions in this competition,” said Terzic about the force with which Madrid performed in the second round.

Stuttgart celebrates coup at Juve

VfB Stuttgart showed a strong reaction to the attrition at FC Bayern and celebrated its first victory in the Champions League in almost 15 years. Three days after losing 4-0 in the Bundesliga in Munich, the Swabians won 1-0 at Juventus Turin. Joker El Bilal Touré redeemed them with his goal in stoppage time (92′). Enzo Millot had previously missed a penalty (86th).

For Stuttgart it was the first win after four competitive games in a row without a threesome. In the Champions League table they have four points after the third matchday of the league phase. Juve had won their first two games in the premier class.

Demirovic trifft den Pfosten – Vlahovic blass

The great successes of the “Old Lady” were a few years ago, but she still has an illustrious name. The march of the Bianconeri to warm up, the club anthem, the backdrop – the neat new stadium is also a stage for a show. But the Swabians were unimpressed by all of this.

VfB was clearly the better team in the first half, but didn’t reward themselves. Against Turin, who have been so strong defensively this season, it will also depend on who can take control, said visiting coach Sebastian Hoeness before the game. His team appeared determined and fought Juve in midfield. The Serbian star striker Dusan Vlahovic, about whom VfB goalkeeper Alexander Nübel had urgently warned, was more or less completely unregistered that evening.

However, the Stuttgart team did not take advantage of their chances. They often looked for a way forward, especially on the left side with the national players Maximilian Mittelstädt and Jamie Leweling. In the 29th minute, attacker Ermedin Demirovic slammed the ball flat against the right post after a fine pass from Millot. Juve’s goalkeeper Mattia Perin was still there with his fingertips – and then really challenged three minutes before the break. The keeper directed a header from Deniz Undav after a cross from Angelo Stiller over the crossbar.

After the break, the picture was initially the same: VfB marched, Juve ran behind. Undav scored after a long diagonal ball from Mittelstädt to give the guests the supposed lead. Because he carried the ball slightly with his arm, the goal was withdrawn after a video check (50th). Stuttgart stuck with it and had further chances through Demirovic (61′) and Millot (62′), Perin was there again in each case.

The game now had high entertainment value. Demirovic, who was on the verge of a yellow-red card, was taken off by VfB coach Hoeness after just over an hour. Shortly later, Juve’s Kenan Yildiz was denied by Stuttgart’s national goalie Nübel (67′). Yildiz also appeared dangerously in the penalty area in the 79th minute, but Josha Vagnoman saved.

Five minutes before the end, Millot had Stuttgart’s victory on its feet. After a foul on Anthony Rouault, for which Juve’s defender Danilo saw yellow-red, the midfielder was denied a penalty by the outstanding Perin. It didn’t seem to be enough for VfB to win again, but then substitute Touré hit the ball into the net.