Dortmund and Leipzig get wins in their Bundesliga top four duel
Dortmund bounced back with a 2-0 victory against Union Berlin on Saturday, maintaining their fourth place spot in the Bundesliga race against RB Leipzig, who also claimed a 4-1 win against Bochum.
- Sports
- DPA
- Published Date: 10:49 | 02 March 2024
- Modified Date: 10:49 | 02 March 2024
Borussia Dortmund returned to winning ways 2-0 at Union Berlin on Saturday to keep fourth place in a Bundesliga duel with RB Leipzig who triumphed 4-1 in Bochum.
Dortmund rebounded from a painful 3-2 home defeat against Hoffenheim from Karim Adeyemi in the 41st and Ian Maatsen in the 90th which eased the pressure on their coach Edin Terzic in an inconsistent season.
That made them stay fourth, one point ahead of Leipzig who had to play catch-up in Bochum after falling behind from Maximilian Wittek seven minutes into the game.
Dani Olmo levelled, and Lois Openda, an own goal by Ivan Ordets and Yussuf Poulsen then secured victory within a span of five minutes between the 68th and 72nd. Bochum's misery was complete when when Moritz-Broni Kwarteng was dismissed in the closing stages, 14 minutes after coming on.
Dortmund are six points and Leipzig seven behind VfB Stuttgart who in third continued their impressive season with a 3-2 victory at lowly Wolfsburg, with the help of from brace by Serhou Guirassy who now has a season tally of 20.
At the top, Bayer Leverkusen can stretch their lead over champions Bayern Munich to 10 points with victory at regional rivals Cologne on Sunday, after Bayern were held 2-2 at Freiburg on Friday.
With the top three seemingly out of reach for Dortmund and Leipzig, every result is important in their duel for the last Champions League slot.
Dortmund had trouble getting into the game at Union who have risen into midfield after a disastrous start into the season, but the lead came in the 41st from Adeyemi whose shot into the top left corner went in off the bar.
Union fought back but Kevin Volland and Yorbe Vertessen were denied by goalkeeper Alexander Meyer before Maatsen wrapped up matters late on the counter.
"Union is not the easiest game away from home. That should definitely give us a boost," said Meyer, who stood in again for injured Gregor Kobel.
"We embraced the fight. The criticism has often been made that we insist upon the elegant approach when the going gets tough. Everyone fought their way into it today. When we play as a team, we're successful too."
Having beaten champions Bayern Munich in their last home game, Bochum also drew first blood against Leipzig from Wittek's seventh minute free-kick, with goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi not looking good.
Leipzig were level after half an hour from Olmo's blast into the top corner, and second half substitutes Openda and Poulsen then made the difference.
Openda scored for 2-1 in the 68th, Ordets deflected Xavi Simons into his own net in the 71st, and Poulsen tapped in Xavi's cross another minute later.
Leipzig defender David Raum said the team can build on this victory for next week's Champions League date at record winners Real Madrid who won the first leg last 16 game 1-0.
"That's how you win nasty games away from home, in this way you can also win in Madrid. We showed mentality today. We are ready for the important game," Raum said.
Elsewhere, rampant Augsburg hit five in the opening 29 minutes en route to a 6-0 triumph at bottom club Darmstadt, with Phillip Tietz and Ermedin Demirovic getting a brace each.
Eintracht Frankfurt prevailed 2-1 at Heidenheim, with their opener a freak own goal from Benedikt Gimber whose backpass took an unexpected bounce right in front of goalkeeper Kevin Müller and went in.
Ten-man Mainz in second last had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Dortmund rebounded from a painful 3-2 home defeat against Hoffenheim from Karim Adeyemi in the 41st and Ian Maatsen in the 90th which eased the pressure on their coach Edin Terzic in an inconsistent season.
That made them stay fourth, one point ahead of Leipzig who had to play catch-up in Bochum after falling behind from Maximilian Wittek seven minutes into the game.
Dani Olmo levelled, and Lois Openda, an own goal by Ivan Ordets and Yussuf Poulsen then secured victory within a span of five minutes between the 68th and 72nd. Bochum's misery was complete when when Moritz-Broni Kwarteng was dismissed in the closing stages, 14 minutes after coming on.
Dortmund are six points and Leipzig seven behind VfB Stuttgart who in third continued their impressive season with a 3-2 victory at lowly Wolfsburg, with the help of from brace by Serhou Guirassy who now has a season tally of 20.
At the top, Bayer Leverkusen can stretch their lead over champions Bayern Munich to 10 points with victory at regional rivals Cologne on Sunday, after Bayern were held 2-2 at Freiburg on Friday.
With the top three seemingly out of reach for Dortmund and Leipzig, every result is important in their duel for the last Champions League slot.
Dortmund had trouble getting into the game at Union who have risen into midfield after a disastrous start into the season, but the lead came in the 41st from Adeyemi whose shot into the top left corner went in off the bar.
Union fought back but Kevin Volland and Yorbe Vertessen were denied by goalkeeper Alexander Meyer before Maatsen wrapped up matters late on the counter.
"Union is not the easiest game away from home. That should definitely give us a boost," said Meyer, who stood in again for injured Gregor Kobel.
"We embraced the fight. The criticism has often been made that we insist upon the elegant approach when the going gets tough. Everyone fought their way into it today. When we play as a team, we're successful too."
Having beaten champions Bayern Munich in their last home game, Bochum also drew first blood against Leipzig from Wittek's seventh minute free-kick, with goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi not looking good.
Leipzig were level after half an hour from Olmo's blast into the top corner, and second half substitutes Openda and Poulsen then made the difference.
Openda scored for 2-1 in the 68th, Ordets deflected Xavi Simons into his own net in the 71st, and Poulsen tapped in Xavi's cross another minute later.
Leipzig defender David Raum said the team can build on this victory for next week's Champions League date at record winners Real Madrid who won the first leg last 16 game 1-0.
"That's how you win nasty games away from home, in this way you can also win in Madrid. We showed mentality today. We are ready for the important game," Raum said.
Elsewhere, rampant Augsburg hit five in the opening 29 minutes en route to a 6-0 triumph at bottom club Darmstadt, with Phillip Tietz and Ermedin Demirovic getting a brace each.
Eintracht Frankfurt prevailed 2-1 at Heidenheim, with their opener a freak own goal from Benedikt Gimber whose backpass took an unexpected bounce right in front of goalkeeper Kevin Müller and went in.
Ten-man Mainz in second last had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Borussia Mönchengladbach.
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