BUNDESLIGA PLAYER RATINGS | Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Heidenheim – Dortmund come from behind to close the gap to Bayern Munich at the top to six points

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The weekend’s Bundesliga action concluded with Borussia Dortmund facing a visit from bottom-of-the-league Heidenheim. Die Schwarzgelben were given yet more renewed vigour after Hamburg held Bayern Munich to a draw at the Volksparkstadion on Saturday night.

Meaning if BVB could come away victorious against Frank Schmidt’s team, they would cut the gap to the Bavarians to six points. Heidenheim, meanwhile, are increasingly in desperate need of points, as they sit four points behind Mainz, who occupy the relegation play-off spot.

Niko Kovač made a total of five changes from the side that went down 2-0 to Inter Milan on Wednesday night, notably Karim Adeyemi and Julian Brandt returning to the forward line. Frank Schmidt made five changes himself from last weekend’s 3-0 defeat to Leipzig.

After a slow start to the game, Dortmund survived an almighty scare 25 minutes in as Gregor Kobel was challenged in the air by Patrick Mainka when attempting to claim Eren Dinkçi’s cross, the Swiss stopper failed to make a clean catch, and Mainka poked home but was adjudged to have fouled Kobel in the buildup. Heidenheim had another great chance moments later when Nico Schlotterbeck could only clear an incoming cross as far as Eren Dinkçi, but his effort was saved excellently by Kobel.

The home side then retook the initiative and perhaps should have taken the lead when Schlotterbeck was left unmarked at a corner, only to send his header just over the crossbar. Julian Brandt soon followed with a perfectly weighted through ball into the path of Serhou Guirassy, with the Guinean coming agonisingly close as his chipped effort cannoned off the crossbar and away from danger.

BVB continued to apply pressure on Heidenheim and, from their eighth corner of the game, finally found the breakthrough. Diant Ramaj attempted to claim the delivery but, under pressure from Guirassy, failed to do so, allowing the ball to fall kindly for Waldemar Anton, who slammed home the opener.

Frank Schmidt’s team wouldn’t go down without a fight, though. On the stroke of half-time, Mathias Honsak broke free from Filippo Mané after the Senegalese pulled up with what looked to be a nasty injury. The Austrian did well to pick out Julian Niehues, who hit the back of the net at the second attempt.

As the second half got underway, Heidenheim dealt Dortmund a real sucker punch, regaining the lead through Niehues, who completed his brace. Arijon Ibrahimović beat three Dortmund players in the build-up before finding Niehues on the edge of the box. The Austrian let fly, with the ball taking a slight deflection off the knee of Daniel Svensson, leaving Gregor Kobel with no chance.

Dortmund pushed forward in search of an equaliser but, in doing so, left themselves exposed at the back. They were extremely fortunate not to fall two goals behind when Marvin Pieringer met a Hennes Behrens cross at the far post, only to somehow head over the crossbar when it appeared easier to score.

Dortmund’s pressure eventually brought them a lifeline when Niklas Dorsch handled Yan Couto’s cross inside the box. Guirassy stepped up and struck his penalty at Ramaj, who got a strong hand to it but could not prevent the ball from finding the back of the net.

Kovač’s men sensed blood and immediately went on the attack again, with Maximilian Beier breaking down the wing before finding Guirassy through on goal. The striker made no mistake, slipping the ball underneath Ramaj at his near post to spark scenes of jubilation inside the Westfalenstadion.

BVB were then awarded another penalty when Guirassy was fouled by Tim Siersleben as he prepared to pull the trigger. With the chance to complete his hat-trick and effectively seal the win, the Guinean instead sent his spot-kick a good 10 yards over the crossbar in a woeful attempt at a Panenka.

Moments into eight minutes of stoppage time, Heidenheim again missed a golden opportunity after a superb cross found Arijon Ibrahimović at the far post. The Bayern loanee failed to get his effort on target. Unbelievably, Heidenheim again missed a brilliant chance to equalise five minutes into stoppage time. Ibrahimović’s cross was met at the near post by Mikkel Kaufmann, whose effort flew agonisingly over the crossbar.

After 98 minutes of edge-of-the-seat action, Dortmund somehow got the job done. Kovač’s team must consider themselves extremely lucky to have come away with the win and closed the gap at the top of the table to six points. This defeat could hurt Heidenheim greatly in the long run, perhaps one they will look back on at the end of the season with regret. Pieringer’s miss that would have put the away side two goals to the good is probably the worst of the bunch. If that goes in, we may be looking at a different result.

Borussia Dortmund 3–2 Heidenheim | Player Ratings

Borussia Dortmund:

Gregor Kobel (6), Filippo Mané (6), Nico Schlotterbeck (6), Waldemar Anton (7), Yan Couto (6), Felix Nmecha (6), Jobe Bellingham (7), Daniel Svensson (6), Karim Adeyemi (5), Julian Brandt (7), Serhou Guirassy (7)

Others: Niklas Süle (6), Carney Chukwuemeka (6), Maximilian Beier (7), Fabio Silva (6), Salih Özcan (-)

Heidenheim:

Diant Ramaj (5), Marnon Busch (6), Patrick Mainka (6), Tim Siersleben (6), Omar Haktab Traoré (5), Julian Niehues (7), Niklas Dorsch (5), Hennes Behrens (7), Eren Dinkçi (5), Mathias Honsak (5), Mavin Pieringer (5)

Others: Arijon Ibrahimović (6), Jan Schöppner (6), Mikkel Kaufman (-), Stefan Schimmer (-), Sirlord Conteh (-)

GGFN Man of the Match: Serhou Guirassy (7)

Despite the attempt at the Panenka that would have sealed the victory for Dortmund, Guirassy looked to be back to his old self even before his two goals. He lead the line well and got his just rewards in the second half.

GGFN | Harry Good