BVB battle their way to 3-1 win in Hoffenheim | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund have picked up a third straight win and will spend the night at the top of the Bundesliga table. In the opening fixture of Matchday 6, the Black & Yellows, down to ten men, beat fellow challengers TSG Hoffenheim 3-1 (2-1) thanks to a passion-filled performance.

Boris Rupert reporting from Sinsheim

In front of 30,150 spectators in the sold-out Prezero Arena, BVB twice took the lead through goals from Niclas Füllkrug (18th) and Marco Reus (45.+3) and successfully defended it despite Rami Bensebaini being given his marching orders in the 71st minute. Here Julian Ryerson set the final point with a fantastic solo (90.+5).

Outlook:   For the third game in a row, BVB were up against an opponent placed one point and one place higher in the table. After the wins away to SC Freiburg and at home to VfL Wolfsburg, the Black & Yellows now faced a team coming off the back of a four-game winning streak. With 12 points from the first five matchdays, TSG Hoffenheim have had their best ever start to a season. Borussia were unbeaten in their last 13 league games and had come out on top in their four most recent encounters with TSG.

Personnel matters: Edin Terzic had the entire squad at his disposal with the exceptions of Marcel Sabitzer, Thomas Meunier and Mateu Morey, who are all expected to return to team training soon. There was just one change to the starting XI from the side that beat Wolfsburg 1-0, with Donyell Malen coming into the line-up to replace Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, who moved to the bench.

Tactics:   TSG lined up in a 3-3-2-2 formation and operated a high press, with four players involved, which caused BVB problems in build-up play. However, Hummels and company were able to find solutions and soon BVB settled in their 4-2-3-1 set-up. Brandt, who occupied a right-sided role, constantly looked to cut inside and link up with Marco Reus. Hoffenheim's Andrej Kramaric dropped into midfield in build-up play, with widemen Skov and Bebou pushing up the park to support striker Beier.

The match & analysis:The hosts' extremely bold approach made for a wild game at first, but Dortmund gained more and more control around the quarter-of-an-hour mark and soon started to create chances. After an intercepted Hoffenheim attack, Özcan played the ball forward to Malen, in a half-left position. The Dutchman slipped past Kabak, but failed to get the better of Baumann in the TSG goal (15). Three minutes later, Brandt put Hoffenheim defender Brooks under pressure from a throw-in and won possession, allowing Füllkrug to go through on goal and finish to make it 1-0 (18).

But TSG soon struck back, and the goal came from an error by Mats Hummels of all people, who has been so impressive in recent weeks. First the BVB defender misplaced a pass, which was intercepted by TSG's Stach, then his attempt to deny the Hoffenheim player from getting through on goal resulted in a clear foul, which nonetheless looked like it might have been outside the box. The referee had a different view of things, and pointed to the spot. Kramaric sent Kobel the wrong way and calmly slotted the spotkick to make it 1-1 (25). From that moment onwards, Hoffenheim were in the ascendancy and took their total number of shots up to nine before half-time, three times as many as BVB. Nonetheless, it was the Black & Yellows who had the last word in this gripping half of football. Borussia's fourth shot on goal led to the third scoring chance - and the second goal. Malen broke clear down the right and sent a sharp low cross into the middle. Baumann failed to deal with it, and veteran Marco Reus reacted with speed and dexterity to send the ball into the back of the net with the side of his foot while falling away to give Dortmund a 2-1 lead.

Less than three minutes had passed after the restart when Kramaric found himself in a pocket of space by the right byline. He lofted a cross into the centre, where Skov had a free header from five metres out, but Kobel was incredibly quick to get down and make the save. BVB rode their luck somewhat early in the second half, but soon managed to ease the pressure a little, albeit without ever really controlling proceedings. That said, it was a chaotic game at this point: Vogt was yellow-carded for a push on Hummels, while Skov's elbowing of Ryerson had gone unpunished.

Adeyemi came on to replace the hard-working Brandt on the hour mark, then shortly afterwards, Can came on for Nmecha, who was on a yellow card. The first substitution was intended to open up the possibility of hitting TSG on the counter-attack. BVB had yet to have a shot on goal in the second half.

BVB then found themselves a man down from the 71st minute onwards. Bensebaini, who had already been cautioned, was shown a second yellow for kicking the ball away. It was a very harsh ruling by the referee. Vogt, who was also cautioned, did not see yellow for striking Adeyemi in the face; referee Badstübner accused the Dortmund player of diving. The TV replays showed the opposite.

In the 76th minute, a strong defensive effort from Malen was required to deny Bebou, who was ready to shoot. Down the other end, Baumann reacted well to save with his foot to prevent his side going 3-1 down. The chance came after the always-energetic Ryerson had won the ball and passed it forward up the left flank to Adeyemi, who picked up a head of steam, cut inside, burst past two Hoffenheim players and fired a shot on goal from 11 metres out, only to be denied by the TSG keeper (82).

The game got more and more heated, as the referee let control slip out his hands. BVB defended their narrow lead with passion. A strong collective effort was required to deny Hoffenheim in the 94th minute before a truly sensational piece of play from Ryerson. The Norwegian won a challenge deep in his own half, powered forward, stormed past Bebou and Grillitsch near the halfway line, and soon found himself with just Baumann to beat. He slipped the ball through the TSG keeper's legs to give BVB a 3-1 win (90+5).

Outlook:   BVB have two home games next week: first against AC Milan (Wednesday, 21:00 CET), then domestically against fellow Champions League participants Union Berlin (Saturday, 15:30 CET).

Teams & goals

Bundesliga, Matchday 6TSG HOFFENHEIM 1–3 (1-2) BORUSSIA DORTMUND

TSG Hoffenheim: Baumann – Kabak, Brooks (84, Bischof), Vogt – Bebou, Grillitsch, Skov (68, Bülter) – Prömel (68, Berisha), Stach – Beier (84, Justvan), Kramaric (87, Becker) Bor. Dortmund: Kobel – Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini – Nmecha (69, Can), Özcan – Brandt (64, Adeyemi), Reus (80, Süle), Malen (80, Wolf) – Füllkrug (80, Haller)  Substitutes: Philipp, Samassekou, Akpoguma, Szalai – Meyer, Reyna, Moukoko, Bynoe-Gittens Goals: 0-1 Füllkrug (18, Brandt), 1-1 Kramaric (25, penalty, Hummels foul on Stach), 1-2 Reus (45+3, Malen), 1-3 Ryerson (90+5) Corners: 4-3 (2-2 at half-time), chance ratio: 6-5 (2-3) Referee: Badstübner (Nuremberg), red cards: Bensebaini (70), bookings: Brooks, Vogt – Hummels, NmechaAttendance: 30,150 (sold-out), Weather: dry, 19 degrees