Borussia Dortmund demonstrated a significant boost in their performance, which can be attributed to the return of several regular staff members. In a well-deserved match that ended 3-0 (2-0) against SC Freiburg on a Friday evening, the team, under the leadership of coach Edin Terzic, managed to make up for their previous week’s lackluster performance in Heidenheim, which ended in a 0-0 draw. Donyell Malen emerged as a key player, scoring goals in the 16th and 45th+7 minutes. The victory was sweetened with a goal from Niclas Füllkrug, who was celebrating his birthday, in the 87th minute. This match, witnessed by a crowd of 81,365 spectators in the fully-booked Signal Iduna Park, allowed BVB to solidify their fourth position in the table and accumulate 13 points from their last five league games.
However, the game was not without interruptions, with fan protests causing a few minutes of pause in both halves. For Freiburg, their elusive quest for their first victory in Dortmund since 2001 remains unachieved. They have not managed to secure a win against BVB in their last 16 games, leaving them in the seventh position in the team standings.
BVB fans express their protest by throwing chocolate coins and tennis balls onto the field
Dortmund’s starting lineup, which underwent four changes compared to their previous Heidenheim match, demonstrated better game control. Donyell Malen was already close to scoring a goal in the 13th minute with an overhead kick, but it was saved by Freiburg’s goalkeeper, Noah Atubolu. However, three minutes later, with an assist from Füllkrug, Malen skillfully drove the ball into the top right corner of the Freiburg goal.
Despite facing an early deficit, the guest team did not adopt a passive stance as witnessed in their previous visits to Dortmund. However, they did not pose a real scoring threat either. BVB’s goalkeeper, Gregor Kobel, was only challenged once by a header from Michael Gregoritsch, a Freiburg striker, in the 21st minute. Even a ten-minute break in the game, caused by BVB fans protesting against investor involvement by throwing tennis balls and chocolate coins onto the field from the south stand, did not alter the power dynamics of the game.
On resumption of the game, Dortmund quickly regained their momentum. Füllkrug, the top scorer, once again proved his value as an assist when he passed the ball to Malen, who then scored with a well-aimed shot into the far corner, giving his team the lead at halftime.
Post-halftime, Dortmund continued to dominate the game. SC goalkeeper Atubolu prevented Dortmund from scoring further with two brilliant saves on shots from Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (46′) and Füllkrug (53′). He also saved a header from Marco Reus, who had just returned to the team in the 71st minute. Luck favored him when Ian Maatsen, a new player, hit the outer post two minutes later. However, Dortmund’s victory was still secure during the final phase of the match. Towards the end, Mateu Morey made a much-awaited comeback after a long period of absence due to injury, substituting in the 88th minute of the game.
