Borussia Dortmund just about kept the Bundesliga title race alive on Saturday afternoon as Erling Haaland came off the bench to score a 95th minute winner against Fortuna Dusseldorf.
The hosts put in a fantastic, defensive performance throughout the majority of the match with their only blemish seemingly being Raphael Guerreiro’s strike before it was ruled out by VAR. Steven Skrzybski had two chances to win the game late on for relegation-threatened Fortuna but on both occasions hit the frame of the goal.
Those missed chances were costly for the hosts as Haaland climbed the highest in the last few seconds to power in a brilliant header to keep Dortmund in pursuit of Bayern and push Dusseldorf even closer to danger.
Chances sparse
With both teams desperate for points, both in the context of the title race and the relegation fight, there was surprisingly a lack of openings in the opening period. That was until a brilliant counter-attack saw Dortmund break up the pitch, with Jadon Sancho managing to find the unmarked Achraf Hakimi in the centre but the on-loan Real Madrid man could not beat Florian Kastenmeier with a low effort.
The Fortuna goalkeeper then held well as Sancho set up Julian Brandt, with the German setting his sights on the bottom corner.
Dortmund strike but VAR denies the opener
The hosts remained resolute, keeping Dortmund at bay and frustrating Lucien Favre’s men. Consequently, the Swiss introduced Haaland into the match on the hour in an effort to introduce some attacking inspiration.
The Norwegian did indeed have an impact only minutes later. Just after Marcel Sobottka had an effort well-stopped by Roman Burki in the Dortmund goal, the visitors again launched a lethal counter attack. Hakimi and Thorgan Hazard exchanged passes, with it then being pulled towards Haaland. His effort was blocked and the ball span into the air before being thumped into the net on the volley by Guerreiro. Just as he was celebrating another goal since the return of the league, VAR intervened and ruled out the strike for a handball by the Portuguese as it seemingly stroked his shoulder.
Late opportunities for Skrzybski
Another substitute, Steven Skrzybski, almost pulled out a winning moment for Fortuna as he was afforded far too much room on the edge of the area and aimed for the bottom corner, only to see his strike cannon off of the base of the post.
The on-loan Schalke man did exactly that once again in the final minute of normal time as he sprinted beyond the Dortmund defence but again cracked his effort off of the outside of the upright.
Haaland the hero again
Just as it looked as though both sides were going to depart with a point apiece, Haaland made sure the headlines were all his yet again. Dortmund piled forwards in the final few seconds, with Akanji picking up the ball on the left flank. The defender was then able to produce an inch-perfect cross towards the Norwegian, who with a glanced header was able to guide the ball into the far corner into the net to seal a late, late victory for Dortmund.
Final Thoughts
It is fair to say that Haaland really did steal all the glory. Dortmund were really not at their flowing best as a stubborn and determined Fortuna backline saw them get ever more frustrated throughout the match. It all also could have been so different for the hosts had Skrzybski put one of his two chances away. However, Dortmund clearly have the quality to find a way through and that’s what they did as they cut the gap to Bayern Munich to four points, albeit potentially for a limited time, whilst Fortuna are only now one point ahead of Werder Bremen.
Match Report
Fortuna Dusseldorf: Kastenmeier (7); Giesselmann (7), Hoffmann (7), Ayhan (6); Sobottka (6) (Morales (N/A), 81′), Suttner (6) (Skrzybski (N/A), 76′), Berisha (6), Stoger (7), Zimmermann (7); Thommy (7) (Zimmer (N/A), 83′), Karaman (6) (Hennings (N/A), 81′).
Borussia Dortmund: Burki (6); Akanji (7), Hummels (7), Piszczek (6); Guerreiro (7), Witsel (6) (Haaland (7), 61′), Can (6), Hakimi (6); Hazard (5) (Reyna (5), 74′), Sancho (6), Brandt (5).
Goals: Haaland (90+5′)
Referee: Sascha Stegemann
Yellow Cards: Hazard (58′), Akanji (70′), Giesselman (80′), Hakimi (84′)
Red Cards: N/A
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