For Matchday 30 of the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund welcomed Hertha Berlin this Saturday. Playing at an empty Signal Iduna Park, the Yellow & Black side had problems passing through the visitor’s defense, but were able to get a simple 1-0 victory. The sole goal of the match was scored by Emre Can.
The first half was really balanced. Both teams were fighting for control in the midfield, which made it difficult for them to attack and create good opportunities.
The hosts were clearly missing having a striker, once Erling Haaland was still out due to an injury. And the lack of a person to score was made even clearer when Thorgan Hazard had the perfect opportunity, at the 22nd minute. At the edge of the 6-yard box, the number 23 sent the ball wide.
Dortmund still had another good chance one minute later, when Julian Brandt tried from outside the box. Once again the ball went wide, not even scaring the goalkeeper Rune Jarstein.
The visitors were unable to create any dangerous chances during the first 45 minutes. That, added with the host’s lack of aiming, made both sides go to the locker room goalless.
In the second half, things were a little different. Dortmund started fiding more spaces in Hertha’s defense and, once again, Haaland was missed when Jadon Sancho lost the perfect chance. He was alone in front of the goal, but the ball went away, passing really close to the post.
After that, the away side finally started creating chances. They took advantage of Dortmund’s weak defense, with Can in the place of Mats Hummels, and in a fast counter-attack, Alexander Esswein appeared alone in the box, but the ball went wide.
Then, at the 58th minute, the deadlock was finally broken. Sancho crossed the ball into the box and Brandt used his head to assist Can. The number 27 didn’t lose time controlling the ball, shooting it into the right corner, giving no chances to goalkeeper Jarstein.
After that, the hosts still had two good chances. The first, the players complained about a possible penalty, because of a handball after Can’s shot. VAR, however, said it was nothing. The second, Sancho missed another perfect chance to score. In the end, the scoring was 1-0.
With the victory, Dortmund remains in 2nd place, now with 63 points. They are still 7 points behind Bayern Munich and winning the League now seems almost impossible. Hertha Berlin, on the other hand, lost their streak without losing since Bundesliga’s comeback, stopping at 38 points, in 9th place.