4.11.2018

An All-American & All-Important Early Goal...

BVB 3:0 VFB

Christian "Captain America" Pulisic got back to scoring ways against Stuttgart, again underlining how crucial a first-half goal can be for BVB. Shortly before halftime, it took a little bit of luck to get the goal, with Pulisic admitting he was trying to cross to the back post and not really being sure if/how to celebrate. "I didn't know what to do," said the young superstar. From then on, however, it seemed Borussia Dortmund knew exactly what to do and cruised to a 3-0 victory thanks to another goal from Batsman and Phillip (who was a bit lucky to be credited with the goal after his rebound looked to be going well wide of the target before a nasty deflection steered it goalward). Pulisic also helped set up the final goal with a cushioned, downward header after a quality service from Mo Dahoud.

In addition to Pulisic, some of the best performers of the day included the midfield pairing of Nuri Sahin and Mo Dahoud. The oft- and overly-criticized Sahin silenced the skeptics with a glittering performance and was arguably the man-of-the-match. He looked like his old self again, his energy and passion driving the BVB midfield and inspiring the team with what was truly a display of leadership.  This top-level showing highlights that Sahin remains an important part of the club. His slick passes caused Stuttgart problems throughout the match and he assisted Batshuayi with a well-weighted ball for the second goal. After a neat flick with the outside of the boot, not unlike the one from Piszczu that set up Pulisic for the first goal, Michy spun and made an aggressive run into the box. Sahin completed the give-and-go, glancing up briefly before delivering an inch-perfect pass to Batsman for an easy finish. And Nuri nearly did the same thing earlier with Reus, returning the ball to its sender with a delightful little chip to his pal Marco who volleyed just wide. It would have been a spectacular goal.  Not to be outdone, Dahoud was behind the final goal, floating a great ball with his left foot to the far post. It was another solid performance from Dahoud who is really beginning to find his feet at Borussia Dortmund. BVB fans are expecting big things from Big Mo next year. With a performance like this, one would expect BVB to stick with the Dahoud-Sahin pairing in the derby.

It was a massive three points for us and added to a few other results from Matchday 29 that went in Dortmund's favor, most importantly a surprise defeat for Sch***e against lowly Hamburg. The Dinosaur Club is hanging by a thread to its Bundesliga record of never being relegated.  The 3-2 win gives them a chance of staying up, though the drop looks inevitable for them.  Fortunately, Eintracht Frankfurt also dropped points, drawing 1-1 with Hoffenheim.  The other relevant result for BVB was Bayer Leverkusen's 4-1 drubbing of Leipzig. Neverkusen dominated the megamarketers throughout the game and took a huge three points, leapfrogging their opponents and jumping from 6th to 4th place in the process. That result leaves them just three points and one place behind BVB in the Bundesliga table, setting up a massively important game between the two clubs on Matchday 31.

All focus, however, is on The Revierderby this Sunday.

After a crucial three points against Stuttgart, we must take another three this weekend in what will be an electric atmosphere in the Ruhrpott. With our foe just one point above us, this edition of the Revierderby will be the most anticipated Bundesliga fixture on Matchday 30. Last time, we allowed the Blau-Weiss Scheiss to come back from certain defeat. This time, they won't be so lucky. The derby is always all-important, but even more so this time around. This is a must-win for BVB and three points takes us back into second and ahead of our archrivals from Gelsenkirchen. There is not much else that needs to be said.

DIE MACHT IM RUHRPOTT!

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