Like old times – Borussia victory for first place, at least for three hours

Borussia Dortmund did not particularly impress in their away match against Heidenheim. The home side received a red card very early on, and that largely shaped the course of the game. Had it not been for that, who knows how things might have turned out...

The match opened with an early chance in the 1st minute, when Karim Adeyemi tried his luck after a neat pass. His low strike down the middle was comfortably saved by goalkeeper Diant Ramaj.

The hosts suffered a major setback in the 22nd minute as Budu Zivzivadze was sent off, leaving Heidenheim with ten men for the remainder of the match. Dortmund looked to capitalize quickly, and just two minutes later Serhou Guirassy rose high to meet a cross, directing a header toward goal, but Ramaj once again made a solid stop.

In the 31st minute, Adeyemi created danger with a strong run down the right flank, but his shot lacked accuracy. The breakthrough came in the 33rd minute, when Julian Ryerson delivered a precise ball into the box that Guirassy nodded past Ramaj to put Dortmund in front. The goal is HERE!

Deep into stoppage time, Dortmund doubled their lead. Adeyemi set up Maximilian Beier, who finished clinically from close range, slotting the ball into the bottom-left corner to make it 2-0. You can see the goal HERE!

The second half offered far less excitement compared to the first, as Borussia Dortmund already had a comfortable two-goal lead and Heidenheim faced the uphill task of chasing the game with a man down. It quickly became clear that overturning the deficit was highly unlikely.

In the 52nd minute, Heidenheim produced their first shot on target of the match. After a well-executed counterattack, Ibrahimovic struck from around 20 meters, but Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel reacted sharply and denied the effort.

Just a few minutes later, in the 56th minute, Maximilian Beier came close to extending Dortmund’s advantage. He controlled the ball neatly on the edge of the box and unleashed a shot, but it sailed high over the crossbar.

From that point on, the match largely settled into a predictable rhythm, with Dortmund in control and Heidenheim unable to mount a serious comeback.

The visitors had two more good chances before the end of the match, first through a shot from Chukwuemeka, and a little later from a similar position, Nmecha tried his luck. Both efforts went over the bar.

BUNDESLIGA - MATCHDAY 3

Friday

Leverkusen - Eintracht Frankfurt 3-1 (2-0)

/Grimaldo 10, 90+8, Schick 45+4 pen/

Saturday

Freiburg - Stuttgart 3-1 (0-1)

/Matanović 81, 90+2 pen, Scherhant 86 - Demirovic 20/

Heidenheim - Dortmund 0-2 (0-1)

/Guirassy 33, Beier 45+6/

Mainz - RB Leipzig 0-1 (0-1)

/Bakayoko 40/

Union Berlin - Hoffenheim 2-4 (0-1)

/Ansah 49, Rothe 71 - Kramaric 45+1 pen, Asllani 45+3, 51, Lemperle 83 pen/

Wolfsburg - Koln 3-3 (1-1)

/Amoura 42, Majer 65, Arnold 90+9 - Waldschmidt 5, Johannesson 90+1, Kaminski 90+14/

19.30: (1.07) Bayern (12.0) Hamburger (30.0)

Sunday

16.30: (2.30) St.Pauli (3.30) Augsburg (3.20)

18.30: (2.00) Monchengladbach (3.90) Werder (3.40)

***odds are subject to change***