Borussia Dortmund 2-0 SC Freiburg
A goal at the end of each half gave Borussia Dortmund another win to keep them at the top of the Bundesliga table with a huge 33 points from 13 games.
Over 81,000 fans packed into the Signal Iduna Park to watch the league leaders dominate Freiburg from start to finish, although it took until injury time for Paco Alcacer to finally see the stubborn visitors off after Marco Reus had given the hosts a first-half lead. Freiburg held Bundesliga champions FC Bayern to a 1-1 draw recently, with Lucas Holer scoring a last-minute equaliser, and the visiting fans must have thought they might just perform another great escape until Alcacer’s 91st-minute strike.
The latest Bundesliga 2018 odds have BVB as favourites to lift the title and end a period of FC Bayern dominance, but head coach Lucien Favre knows there’s a long way to go. But for now, his team has a seven-point lead, and fans will be anxiously keeping up with the Bundesliga 2018 updates tomorrow when second-placed Borussia Monchengladbach visit Leipzig. What a game that will be at the Red Bull Arena, and you can catch up with all the highlights tomorrow right here at SBOBET.
Highlights of the game
The hosts came into this game having just qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League and riding high in the Bundesliga. The massed ranks in the Yellow Wall fully expected the win.
Jadon Sancho has made six assists and scored four goals so far in a superb start to his season, and he was the first to have a shot in anger, firing one straight at Freiburg keeper Alexander Schwolow from outside the penalty area. And he then played in Jacob Bruun Larsen, but the striker’s shot was blocked.
Christian Streich’s team has been shaky in defence, conceding 20 in the first 12 league games, and Sancho continued to torment them. He shook off a challenge and crossed on 12 minutes for Mario Gotze, but his header flew wide. Gian-Luca Waldschmidt had a long-range shot for Freiburg, but it was a rare foray into the Dortmund half as the hosts continued to press. Gotze and Marco Reus were both denied from close range.
Dortmund have been scoring for fun so far this season: Paco Alcacer is in red-hot form and joint top of the Bundesliga scoring chart with nine goals at the start of the weekend, while Marco Reus was just one behind with eight. And when Freiburg’s resistance was finally broken on 40 minutes, it was Reus who put away his ninth.
Jadon Sancho got the better of Dominique Heintz, and the defender tripped the England starlet to give Reus a chance from the penalty spot. He happily fired the ball down the centre of the goal.
Freiburg came so close moments after the restart when the visitors were awarded a free kick and Jerome Gondorf’s fine effort bounced back off the crossbar. That was a warning for the hosts, and they came out for the second half in search of a second goal to calm the nerves. Reus had a shot saved, and Axel Witsel fired high and wide when his captain put him in.
But as the game wore on, Freiburg continued to defend bravely to stay in the match. Lukasz Piszczek came near to settling the match on 79 minutes, though, when his long-range effort struck the crossbar.
Then, as the game moved into injury time, it was that man Alcacer who confirmed the win, slamming the ball home when Piszczek found him in space in the box.
Key Statistics
BVB came into the fixture in commanding form at the top of the Bundesliga and have now made it four league wins on the bounce, while the visitors have now failed to win in five in all competitions.
The 2-0 win was a fair reflection of a game which BVB dominated, with 67 per cent possession and 11 shots to five, four to one on target.
But Favre will be most pleased by the way his side used the ball, with over 90 per cent passing accuracy, as well as getting another three points!
What’s next?
Next Saturday, a buoyant BVB head to Schalke; they then travel away to Monaco the following Tuesday, already in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Freiburg have another tough test at home to RB Leipzig who were sitting in fifth place at the start of the weekend before that big clash with Monchengladbach. Streich’s team is down to 12th and is in need of a win sooner or later, or they will have to start looking over their shoulders.
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