PLAYER RATINGS | Borussia Dortmund 4-2 Bochum: Serhou Guirassy brace secures comeback win
A brace from Serhou Guirassy secured a comeback win for Borussia Dortmund after Bochum raced into a 2-0 lead at the Westfalenstadion in the Ruhr derby. 4-2 winners on the night, there’s still plenty of work to do defensively for Nuri Şahin’s side who again looked frail in the defensive third, but there’s plenty of positive to take from their attack.
Ferocious start from Bochum
Bochum were looking to take advantage of Borussia Dortmund’s surely morale deflating loss against Stuttgart last weekend as the visitors looked to press their opponents from the first moment, but it was Dortmund who controlled possession in the early stages. And it was Dortmund who had the best chance in the early stages when Karim Adeyemi forced Patrick Drewes into an early stage after 11 minutes, but it was Bochum that silenced the Yellow Wall.
Driving forward, Matúš Bero played an excellent one-two with Philipp Hofmann before firing a ferocious shot past Gregor Kobel, who had no chance, after 16 minutes. And it took the visitors just another five minutes to double their lead, this time through Dani de Wit. Kobel was under pressure from Myron Boadu, who nicked the ball from the Dortmund goalkeeper before finding his compatriot, who passed the ball into an empty net.
And it could well have gotten worse for Borussia Dortmund. Boadu broke through the defensive line after bringing down a pass from Hofmann. Driving the ball forward from just inside Dortmund’s half, Boadu dragged the ball just wide of Kobel’s post from 15 yards.
Failure to take a 3-0 ultimately cost Bochum after Borussia Dortmund got a goal back on the stroke of half-time. The hosts dominated possession in the final five minutes of the half and were rewarded when Serhou Guirassy got on the end of Julian Brandt’s cross, scoring his second Dortmund goal, and his first at the Westfalenstadion.
Borussia Dortmund complete second-half comeback
A big 45 minutes in Borussia Dortmund’s season, whatever Nuri Şahin said at half-time worked. Die Schwarzgelben dominated possession and created chances through Jamie Gittens and Pascal Groß. It was the latter who played a pass into the path of Guirassy, who was brought down by former Dortmund defender Felix Passlack in the area, which saw Emre Can to step up and dispatch the penalty – BVB’s captain has never missed a penalty in the Bundesliga, scoring nine.
Moments after a triple substitution that saw Maximilian Beier, Ramy Bensebaini and Felix Nmecha introduced, Borussia Dortmund then completed the comeback. A superb counter-attack, Adeyemi progressed the ball before his perfectly-weighted pass found Guirassy, who made no mistake in scoring his second of the night.
There’s no doubt that Borussia Dortmund will be disappointed with their defensive performance after Şahin demanded a response after conceding five goals last weekend, but Dortmund looked, in phases, excellent in attack. Nmecha added a fourth for Dortmund on the night, with Adeyemi adding another assist. And although Die Schwarzgelben made it hard work to come back, they got the job done on the night and can start preparing for a difficult Champions League tie against Celtic.
Borussia Dortmund 4-2 Bochum Player Ratings
Borussia Dortmund: Gregor Kobel (4) – Yan Couto (4), Waldemar Anton (5), Nico Schlotterbeck (5), Julian Ryerson (4) – Emre Can (5), Pascal Groß (6) – Karim Adeyemi (6), Julian Brandt (6), Jamie Gittens (6) – Serhou Guirassy (8).
Others: Julien Duranville (5), Maximilian Beier (-), Ramy Bensebaini (-), Felix Nmecha (-), Niklas Süle (-)
VfL Bochum: Patrick Drewes (6) – Felix Passlack (7), Tim Oermann (5), Jakov Medić (6), Maximilian Wittek (6) – Ibrahima Sissoko (6), Anthony Losilla (6), Matúš Bero (7), Dani de Wit (6) – Myron Boadu (7), Philipp Hofmann (7)
Others: Moritz Broschinski (5), Moritz-Broni Kwarteng (-), Aliou Baldé (-),
GGFN MOTM: Serhou Guirassy – The Guinean forward scored his second and third goals in Borussia Dortmund colours to help secure a comeback win for his new club. A leaping header brought Dortmund to within one of Bochum, before he was brought down by Felix Passlack for their second of the night. Guirassy then scored the all-important goal to put Die Schwarzgelben into a 3-2 lead with a superb finish. 32 touches on the night, three of his five shots found the target, and he also created two big chances. A superb performance.
