Win in Dortmund seals European return

Guirassy off target

The match was an intense affair from the off in Dortmund, although it wasn’t until the 25th minute that VfB created their first meaningful chance, with Serhou Guirassy heading wide from Chris Führich’s cross.

Nübel to the rescue

A short while later at the other end of the pitch, Alexander Nübel prevented the home side from taking the lead with a superb save to thwart Karim Adeyemi. Stuttgart heeded that warning and were subsequently compact in defence, denying Dortmund any further opportunities.

1-0 lead

The 81,365 fans – of which 8,000 were VfB supporters – witnessed a second half played at full tilt, with plenty of full-blooded challenges. Dortmund had more of the ball initially, but Guirassy swung momentum VfB’s way by finishing off a fantastic counter-attack in the 64^th minute.

Thrilling finale

Just six minutes later, Deniz Undav saw his header saved by Gregor Kobel, before Dortmund threw everything forward in search of an equaliser. They very nearly found it too, only for Nico Schlotterbeck to blaze over the bar from close range in the 80th minute. Sebastian Hoeneß’s charges retained a threat on the counter, with Guirassy missing a chance to make it 2-0 in stoppage time, but they held on to take all three points from a narrow victory.

Goal

64′: VfB burst forward on the break and Jamie Leweling plays a brilliant cross from the right into the centre for Guirassy, who leaves Kobel no chance with a powerful drive into the top-right corner.