Match Report: Dortmund hold on for 1-0 victory against RB Leipzig

A big first win of the Ruckrunde for BVB. We won away to RB Leipzig 1-0 on Saturday to keep our 6 point lead on the table. Axel Witsel was our lone goal scorer. Our subs were Pulisic, Paco and Wolf on for Raphael, Phillip and Sancho.

The first half was exciting to say the least. In the first twenty minutes Leipzig couldn’t do much with their possession. To punish them Dortmund kept good control of the match and had some early chances. On a BVB corner in the 19th minute, the ball fell to Axel Witsel’s feet and he scored a rocket right off the top bar. It was Witsel’s second goal of the year and it was a beauty. After the goal BVB started to let RB get comfortable and RBs press started winning them more and more chances. Thanks to some bravery from Burki and big moves from Diallo, Witsel and Weigl we were able to keep the lead for the rest of the half.

The second half was much more even between the teams. While RB looked to control the game, BVB had plenty of chances on the break, although they could not finish any of them. Burki was the hero of the second half as he saved some really tough shots and got his hand on some big opportunities before they could be shot. Aside from his mix up where he passed to Werner, he was perfect this game. After subbing on Paco, Dortmund made some more dangerous chances, notably a Paco break that was inches from being a goal. Despite a late game push and lots of FKs, Dortmund managed to hold on 1-0

This win was a huge for BVB. We had one true CB and were missing Reus. It definitely felt before the game we were not favored to win due to our health issues. CB replacement Weigl really stepped up today. While has hasn’t been himself for awhile, he slotted in at CB very well against a fast tough RB side. His positioning was actually great and he is one of the big reasons we kept the clean sheet. Phillip and Gotze looked good against the leagues best defense. While neither of them scored they were able to create and be on the end of a few chances, especially Phillip. Phillip has been upstaged by Paco’s arrival this year, it’s good to see he has not totally lost his touch.

Witsel was crucial in handling the press and helping Dortmund on the break, and his loan goal got us the win. however Burki would be my MOTM with 6 saves and over 60 touches he kept us in this game. Some of his saves were unreal today.

What are your thoughts on the match.