Dortmund football celebrates a duo that celebrates itself too
· Yahoo Sports
After Santiago Mourino’s equalizer for 1-1 (67'), the hoped-for home win against last season’s third-placed team from Spain briefly hung in the balance. Goalkeeper Gregor Kobel even prevented a possible deficit, and coach Niko Kovac once again showed a fortunate touch with his substitutions: Jobe Bellingham shored up central midfield, and Fabio Silva came alive up front. The 24-year-old Portuguese set up Serhou Guirassy for the 2-1 goal (80') and probably would have scored himself several times if former Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi had not produced three outstanding saves in the 76th, 83rd, and 90th minutes.
In the end, the scoreboard showed a 3-2 win for BVB. It was a deserved victory given the expected goals based on chance quality — 2.83 to 1.34 — as well as an 18-13 edge in shots. That allowed the Black and Yellows to continue an attractive trend. In the 16 BVB matches across the two league phases of 2024/25 and 2025/26, the total of 70 goals at both ends was already the highest in Europe. The current average stands at 4.4 goals per match.
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“My team did a really good job”
“We saw a great football match. My team did a really good job,” were Niko Kovac’s words of praise after the game. “We deserved to win because we showed a lot of what we are capable of. Our possession in the first half was excellent, and in the second half we created many good chances.” But they also allowed a few. “Of course the opponent had more opportunities than I had hoped for,” the head coach admitted, “but we were also up against a very, very good opponent.”
But Fabio Silva and two-goal scorer Serhou Guirassy (who converted a penalty for 3-1 in the 85th minute) were even better. “Fabio is doing really well. He’s flourishing and doing what he can do: working hard for the team, creating lots of chances, and of course he is very valuable as a provider of assists,” said Kovac, who hinted that he could switch in future between 3-4-3 and 3-5-2 in both tactical setup and personnel: “You can see that we can play just as well in this system with two strikers as we can with one striker and two wingers.”
Guirassy: “I’m very happy with Fabio”
So in future, it may more often be Guirassy and Silva — not or — when BVB line up. “I play better when I play with him,” the Portuguese told BVB-TV. “We can create more space for each other. We create more chances and are more present in the box.” Guirassy also argued in favor of a two-man strike force and tried to talk his teammate into the team: “It’s not always easy for him. I’m very happy with Fabio. He has made the difference in the last two games. I know him very well, we speak the same football language, and tonight we are all happy.”
Even more important than who plays for BVB is how they perform. Top scorer Serhou Guirassy knows that too: “In the last two games, it was mainly about team spirit. And we have to keep that attitude. And the players who come on make the difference. That is important for a big club. Let’s work on achieving something great.”
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.