The embodiment of the hard-fought away win in Frankfurt was Jude Bellingham, who was still sprinting around in stoppage time and pressing the opponent high up the pitch to disrupt their build-up play. Exhausted, the Englishman squatted on the halfway line, his pulse racing. Then Kobel launched the ball downfield, and Bellingham was up and at it again…

“Jude led the way in quite a number of instances. He covered every blade of grass. It was a great fight,” said Edin Terzic of the winning goal scorer, who took his tally to 09 goals in 19 matches across all competitions this season – an outstanding record for a defensive midfielder. Zorc-esque, one might even say…

There was no doubt about the fact the 2-1 win in Frankfurt was extremely fortuitous. Nor was there any doubt about its importance after the slip-ups that had preceded it. Following the close of the Saturday’s action, Borussia Dortmund moved up to third place – temporarily at least. “In the second half in particular, we had to come through a few really close moments,” said Terzic, who conceded: “It was a fortuitous victory, but it was amazing. There’s no reason to be ashamed if you have won away to Eintracht Frankfurt.”

In addition to the commitment shown by all, the coach particularly enjoyed two moments: the well-worked goals scored by Julian Brandt, who has been in strong form for weeks, and Jude Bellingham. “We launched a few really good attacks in the first half and both goals were well worked,” commented Terzic. Salih Özcan’s wonderful 50-metre diagonal ball over to the left flank to switch the play in the build-up to the opener went “precisely into the space that we want to play into”, while the goal for 2-1 was rehearsed. “The quick ball out the wide player. The winger runs in behind. The striker comes short and plays it on with one touch.”

But Terzic did not focus solely on those two moments in his post-match analysis. The team lacked control for long spells. The goal that made it 2-1 in the 52nd minute was the first attempt at goal BVB had registered since the 32nd minute. “The goals were nicely worked, and yet a lot of the play was poor today. We didn’t create enough chances from our good spells of possession, even if the pitch conditions weren’t the best.”

As was the case during the cup tie in Hanover, and as it has been so often already this season, Gregor Kobel was the key to the victory. He saved six shots – including four major opportunities for the opposition. Terzic said: “We’re delighted that he’s performing this way. But we’d like him to have less to do.” The same probably applies to Jude Bellingham too…
Boris Rupert