Borussia Dortmund 3-1 VfB Stuttgart
Dortmund pulled out all the stops to register a late win over Stuttgart thanks to an assist and a goal from substitute Christian Pulisic, and that keeps them level on points with FC Bayern at the top of the Bundesliga.
Over 81,000 fans went wild at the Signal Iduna Park after seeing their side held for over 80 minutes when Pulisic put on a brilliant late show. But Lucien Favre’s team has slipped into second place on goal difference after Bayern slaughtered Wolfsburg 6-0. Bundesliga 2019 betting odds have swung firmly in the direction of Bavaria, making FC Bayern odds on to retain their title after chasing down Dortmund.
As for Markus Weinzierl’s Stuttgart, the relegation battle becomes ever more intense as they languish in 16th place.
Highlights of the game
BVB’s big players had a disappointing night in the Champions League defeat to Spurs in midweek and they looked intent on making things right this afternoon. Paco Alcacer had two good early efforts, first heading a Jadon Sancho corner just wide and then taking a Marius Wolf pass and shooting from a tight angle that got blocked.
Then Mario Gotze put Sancho in, and he struck a firm effort, again blocked by a packed Stuttgart defence. The visitors made a foray into Dortmund territory, and Emiliano Insua took a pot shot from distance which was charged down. And on the half-hour, Steven Zuber put Nicolas Gonzalez through. He came close, but his shot whistled past the right post.
Sancho had the best effort so far on 37 minutes with a low shot towards the bottom corner, but Ron-Robert Zieler got down well to make a smart save.
As the half-time Bundesliga 2019 updates spread across the Signal Iduna Park, the big news was that FC Bayern was 2-0 up against Wolfsburg, and that sent a nervous murmur around the stadium.
Favre sent his men out with a second-half mission, and they were on the front foot again with skipper Marco Reus trying to spark a goal. He found Raphael Guerreiro in space in the penalty area and his shot was inches past the left post. As BVB pressed, Alcacer had a header tipped over the bar. And then the deadlock was broken on the hour.
When Gonzalo Castro tripped Jadon Sancho, the Yellow Wall erupted as VAR awarded a penalty. And it exploded into life again when Reus stepped up to stroke the spot-kick home. That was his 14th goal of the season and, despite being out injured for weeks, he’s right in the hunt to be the Bundesliga top scorer.
But if the home fans thought that their team would pull away from the strugglers, how wrong they were. In a flurry of yellow cards, Wolf picked up a booking for a foul on Alexander Esswein. When Castro swung the free-kick in, Marc-Oliver Kempf rose highest to head the ball into the bottom-right corner, giving Roman Burki no chance.
Alcacer forced another good save from Zieler with a shot from distance, and Favre threw on Christian Pulisic with ten minutes to go to try to force a winner. And what an inspired substitution that turned out to be when the young American worked well to find Alcacer in the box, and he fired into the top-left corner to spark wild celebrations.
There was a late scare when Stuttgart’s Ozan Kabak’s header whistled just wide, but there were cheers of relief and delight all around the ground when Pulisic fired home the third.
Key statistics
Borussia dominated the first 45 minutes play with over 77 per cent possession and eight shots to four, but only two were on target and Zieler had just one good save to make.
But the hosts fully deserved their win in the end, registering 17 shots on goal and eight on target as Stuttgart’s only effort on target was their goal.
What’s next?
Favre’s team had a firm hold on the Bundesliga title at the turn of the year, but a patchy run of form means they are now neck-and-neck with FC Bayern
Next Saturday, BVB head to Berlin to take on mid-table Hertha. Keep it right here at SBOBET where we’ll be previewing that game with head-to-head stats and a look at the best odds, and then bringing you all the action from the match.
Stuttgart are at home to Hoffenheim next week, another side comfortably off in mid-table, and Weinzierl’s team will push hard for a crucial win. They came within ten minutes of a great result today and that should give them hope.
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