In Berlin, Borussia Dortmund clinched consecutive victories in the Bundesliga for the first time this season with a 2-0 win against St. Pauli, thanks to another goal by Serhou Guirassy on Saturday. Despite the victory, the performance from Niko Kova?’s squad was less than convincing. After suffering two defeats, Dortmund had previously rebounded with a resounding 6-0 triumph over Union Berlin last weekend.
During the first half, Dortmund showed little offensive threat while St. Pauli, who has now failed to score in four matches, created the more promising opportunities. “We had exactly what we anticipated in the first half,” Kova? remarked. “Our build-up play was problematic, and we struggled to find effective solutions. We adjusted from a three-man defense to a four-man at halftime, allowing our full-backs to perform significantly better and eventually control the game.”
Guirassy found the back of the net in the 50th minute, marking his 14th goal of the season. This came despite St. Pauli’s initial block of his effort. The ball remained unclaimed after Yan Couto’s cross, allowing Karim Adeyemi to set Guirassy up for the crucial shot. Adeyemi then extended Dortmund’s lead with a goal on a counterattack in the 58th minute, following a clearance by Marcel Sabitzer.
The victory leaves Dortmund positioned 10th in the league, but they gained a positive outlook on their Champions League qualification hopes as Mainz managed a comeback to defeat Leipzig 2-1 on the road.
In other matches, current champions Bayer Leverkusen secured a 4-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt, maintaining their position eight points behind league leaders Bayern Munich. Granit Xhaka’s pinpoint pass found Nathan Tella, who netted the first goal inside the left post in the 26th minute. Shortly after, Nordi Mukiele scored again for Leverkusen, followed by Patrik Schick who benefited from an Álex Grimaldo setup, making it 3-0 by the 33rd minute.
Despite Frankfurt’s attempts to rally, sparked by Hugo Ekitiké’s goal exploiting a Mukiele error, Aleix Garcia ensured Leverkusen’s dominance with a fourth goal in the 62nd minute. With this result, Leverkusen extended their undefeated away streak in the Bundesliga to 29 matches. Their next challenge is against Bayern in the Champions League last-16 round on Wednesday.
All of the away teams emerged victorious on Saturday. In other fixtures across the league, Wolfsburg edged out Werder Bremen 2-1, signaling Bremen’s fifth consecutive defeat across all competitions. Meanwhile, Hoffenheim clinched a 1-0 win at Bochum, and Borussia Mönchengladbach celebrated a 3-0 victory in Heidenheim.
