DistantNews
Support us
🇩🇪 Germany /Sports

‘Very Enjoyable’: Dortmund Looks Like Bayern’s Most Mature Rival

From Die Zeit · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire From a news agency Outcome reported
  • Borussia Dortmund moved above Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga standings after beating Hoffenheim 3-2 and watching Schalke hold Bayern to a 0-0 draw.
  • Dortmund recovered from a 2-0 deficit through goals involving Serhou Guirassy and Fabio Silva, with Ethan Nwaneri helping create the winning goal.
  • Early results have left Dortmund looking like Bayern’s most stable challenger, while Leipzig and Leverkusen have already dropped points.

Borussia Dortmund’s 3-2 comeback at Hoffenheim gave the club a spectacular Saturday, but Schalke supplied the final twist. The promoted side held defending champion Bayern Munich to a 0-0 draw, allowing Dortmund to sit above Bayern in the table for the first time in more than two years.

Isn’t that megacool?

· Gregor KobelThe Dortmund goalkeeper celebrated the club’s strong start and its temporary position above Bayern.

“Isn’t that megacool?” goalkeeper Gregor Kobel said of Dortmund’s dream start. The team had trailed 2-0 after goals from Leon Avdullahu and Tim Lemperle, and a Dortmund turnaround appeared unlikely. But Serhou Guirassy and Fabio Silva scored, while 19-year-old Arsenal signing Ethan Nwaneri helped create the decisive third goal, an own goal by Albian Hajdari.

Dortmund chief executive Lars Ricken said the club’s matches had become events, pointing to the comeback after the team had beaten Hamburg 2-0 in its opening game. Coach Niko Kovac described the final phase as an all-or-nothing effort and introduced Silva and Nwaneri to change the game.

Where Dortmund play, something is happening! It was already like that against Hamburg. After 2-0, you could no longer necessarily expect it. But we came back.

· Lars RickenDortmund’s chief executive described the team’s comeback against Hoffenheim.

The victory marked Kovac’s 50th Bundesliga match as Dortmund coach. His 107 points in those games exceed the totals recorded by Lucien Favre and Thomas Tuchel over their first 50 league matches at the club, and stand well above Jürgen Klopp’s 86. Kovac played down the statistic, saying it would not win many matches by itself.

We played all or nothing.

· Niko KovacThe Dortmund coach described the team’s approach during the decisive closing phase.

Dortmund’s early-season position also reflects missteps by other contenders. RB Leipzig lost 3-1 at Werder Bremen, while Bayer Leverkusen fell 3-2 to promoted SV Elversberg. Summer signings have strengthened Dortmund’s impression of stability, with Konstantinos Karetsas shining against Hamburg and substitute Joey Veerman helping organize the team during the chaotic match in Sinsheim.

That’s a statistic that exists now. When I’m no longer here, someone else will do better again. We’ll take the flowers, but you don’t win much with that.

· Niko KovacKovac responded to comparisons of his points total with previous Dortmund coaches.
About this summary

Originally published by Die Zeit in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog