Werder Bremen 1-2 Borussia Dortmund
Bundesliga, matchday 12
15/12/20
The first game of the post Favre era ended with victory for Dortmund.
Goals by Raphael Guerreiro and Marco Reus cancelled out Kevin Mohwald’s excellent equaliser for Werder in the first half.
It was the first game Edin Terzic took as charge of Dortmund having overseen the BlackYellows slump to two losses and a draw as assistant coach under Lucien Favre who was sacked on Sunday.
The win moves Dortmund up one place to fourth, three points behind leaders Leverkusen and two behind Bayern Munich who both play tomorrow.
Last season’s relegation strugglers Werder Bremen remain in thirteenth after a more solid start for the Green and Whites this season compared to last.
Reaction from the new BVB boss: “I am really proud that we gave everything from start to finish”
“I am really proud that we gave everything from start to finish and that we ran every metre we had to. Of course, in terms of how we played, it wasn’t exactly how we imagine we ultimately want to play. But far more importantly, we didn’t just win the game today, we defended the victory to the end.”
Authority stamped by the understudy
Free of the restraints of former boss Favre, 38-year-old Edin Terzic stamped his authority on the team by changing Dortmund’s shape from a 3-4-2-1 to a 4-2-3-1 to accommodate an extra striker in the form of 16-year-old wonderkid Youssoufa Moukoko.
Terzic seems of the opinion that the gaping hole left by the injured Erling Haaland is best filled by a striker rather than a false nine in the form of Brandt or Reus.
Further articles
–Dortmund coach Favre sacked: Analysis and reaction from the club and the fans
–1-1, Dortmund frustrated by Frankfurt piling misery on Favre: Match report
–Analysis and reaction: Fans call for Favre to go after surprising 2-1 loss at home to Koln
First half – Same old story for BVB?
One of the traits of Dortmund which did seem to change under new management was their reluctance to score early in games.
The first goal in the ‘Terzic era’ came from Raphael Guerreiro on twelve minutes.
Guerreiro’s goal came after Dortmund captain Marco Reus, recently restored to the first-11, won a free-kick which Sancho swung in and which ricocheted around in the box allowing Can and Sancho to get shots away before Guerreiro looped the ball into the net.
Time will tell whether the early response was in reaction to the jolt of Favre’s departure or whether Dortmund’s teenagers seem to have been shook from their beds and are no longer allowed to lie in and start late in matches.
It was by no means a rejuvenating performance by BVB and as that youthful, uncontrollable and often chaotic nature remained in the side it was no surprise to see the resolute Werder equalise, what was surprising was the quality of the goal.
Manuel Akanji’s pass was intercepted by tenacious Werder midfielder Yuya Osako, the ball was worked to Maximilian Eggestein who layed it off for a sumptuous 20-yard finish, hit first time and curled round Dortmund keeper Burki by Kevin Mohwald.
Dortmund huffed and puffed to regain the lead and were unlucky not to go ahead with two guilt edge chances.
The first saw Jude Bellingham sweep a cross into the box which Werder defender Christian Grob turned onto his own post then Akanji somehow hit the ball straight at Pavlenka from a superb delivery by Marco Reus on forty-one minutes.
The final chance of the half fell to Werder as Ludwig Augustinsson’s shot was acrobatically tipped wide by Burki.
After 45 minutes under a new coach nothing suggested a revolution was taking place at BVB, unlike a certain assistant did when he took over at Bayern.
Who is Edin Terzic – the ‘professor of football’
Edin Terzic could be considered a student of the game having acquired a degree in Sports Science from the Ruhr University Bochum. Born in the heart of the Ruhr and the battleground for the great contests between Schalke and Dortmund, Terzic spent much of his playing career as a journeyman in the fourth tier of German football. Terzic started at BVB in 2010 as a scout as did his brother Alan. The German struck up a relationship with West Brom manager Slaven Bilić as Bilic’s assistant coach at Lokomotive Moscow and Beşiktaş before going to work with the Croat at West Ham United. Terzic returned to Dortmund where he was appointed assistant manager in 2018 when Favre took up the post of head coach.
Second half – Dortmund scrape to a scrappy victory
The helter-skelter nature of the game continued in the second half with chances falling to both sides.
The most clear cut of these opportunities fell to the BlackYellow wonderkid Moukoko who couldn’t convert Reus’ cross to the back post which the young German had to stretch to connect with.
Sancho had a goal correctly ruled out for offside after a nice Bellingham flick but other than that Werder boss Florian Kohfedlt was confident enough to make an attacking substitution, bringing on playmaker Leonardo Bittencourt for Mohwald.
That confidence might have waned as Kohfedlt watched Reus power a header at Pavlenka on seventy-one minutes then, six minutes later, convert a penalty off the rebound to restore Dortmund’s lead.
Substitute Julian Brandt curled in a cross which Pavlenka made a hash of catching and brought down Morey as he tried to reclaim the ball. Referee Robert Schroder had no hesitation pointing to the spot allowing captain Reus to covert on the rebound after Pavlenka made an excellent attempt saving the initial strike.
It wasn’t classic Dortmund by any means however there will be relief that the ship has seemingly steadied, although the storm might not have past totally as defender Mats Hummels went off injured ten minutes before the end.
Werder Bremen, 3-4-2-1: Pavlenka (GK), Augustinsson, Mohwald (->65′), Osako (->73′), Sargent (->65′), Toprak (->86′), Gebre Selassie (C), Friedl, Mbom (->86′), Eggestein, Grob
Subs: Kapino (GK), Bittencourt (->65′), Veljikovic, Agu (->86′), Moisander, Erras (->73′), Schmid (->86′), Chong, Woltemade (->65′)
BVB, 4-2-3-1: Burki (GK), Hummels (->85′), Morey Bauza (->85′), Akanji, Reus (C), Witsel, Bellingham (->72′), Guerreiro, Sancho, Reyna, Moukoko (->80′)
Subs: Hitz (GK), Dahoud, Schulz, Can (->80′), Brandt (->72′), Piszczek (->85′), Passlack, Zagadou (->85′), Reinier
Goals: Guerreiro 12′, Mohwald 29′, Reus 77′
Harry Jamshid Reporter Sports Pages 