You get a penalty! You get a penalty! And YOU get a penalty!
If I were a Hamburg fan, I would be absolutely livid with my team. They played very well in the first half and got a 2-0 lead to show for it. They then conceded a penalty, but were bailed out when Felix Nmecha dragged it wide. So they led by two at the half. All they had to do to win was not collapse. Unfortunately for them, in the second half they conceded another, and then ANOTHER penalty, and fortunately for BVB, they had subbed on an actually
competent penalty taker in Ramy Bensebaini, who converted them both. Along with a goal from Serhou Guirassy, that was enough to get Dortmund across the line.
It’s not too hard to win when you get three penalties in one game, but BVB still made it close, taking until the 84th minute to take the lead. I’m being a little glib, because Dortmund completely dominated the second half and definitely deserved to win regardless of the penalties. Here are my man of the match candidates:
Ramy Bensebaini
Luca Reggiani, bless his heart, did not have a great game. On Hamburg’s second goal, his dallying on the ball too long allowed Philip Otele to strip it off of him and feed it to Fabio Viera. Bensebaini came on in the second half and immediately helped right the ship. He was calm on the ball and in defense, and of course converted both penalties calmy.
Serhou Guirassy
Guirassy came on at half time, and immediately BVB’s attack looked much more balanced. He scored the game-tying goal and almost had a second goal when a point-blank effort was saved by Daniel Fernandes in stoppage time.
Julian Ryerson
Ryerson led BVB in expected assists, and picked out Guirassy with a perfect cross on Dortmund’s game-tying goal.
Jobe Bellingham
Bellingham did not find the score sheet, but I thought he had a very solid game. He won 6/7 ground+aerial duels and was tied with Anton for the team lead in defensive contributions.
Who was your man of the match? Let me know your thoughts below!
