BVB have lost two league matches in a row for the first time this season, dropping all three points to Hoffenheim. The Sinsheim club were awarded two important penalties from handball incidents that ultimately allowed them to triumph 2-1 over BVB.
You can’t talk about this match without addressing the handballs. The handball rules in today’s game are well defined, if not always agreeable. In the first incident, Niklas Süle went down injured in the box and as he fell, his hand was struck in an unnatural
position. My perspective is that he was shielding his face by reflex, and it feels rather harsh that his last action in the game—an injury—should be further punished. But the ball hit his hand, and the room for interpretation is minimal. You can complain about the rule, but not its application. Not in this case, anyway.
The second handball offense was committed by Julian Ryerson, who also had his hand in an unnatural position. I have more of a complaint here because it wasn’t entirely clear that the ball did touch Ryerson’s hand. At least not from my perspective. If you saw it better and want to correct me in the comments, please do so, but since the second call was not made by the referee on the field, it meant VAR was directly intervening. Had the referee called it on the field, and VAR had said “there is not enough evidence to overturn it” I might be more amendable to accept the decision.
All that said, the game is lost. BVB can blame themselves for the penalty, but they can also blame themselves for putting three shots on target in 100 minutes of football. An xG of .70 does not suggest a match that was undeservedly lost.
BVB can still make a real mess of this season. Current indications are that Germany may receive a fifth Champions League spot, but that is not confirmed. With four matches left to play, and Stuttgart (in fourth) sitting only eight points behind, disaster has not been averted. While I do not believe BVB will go winless in six, I would like to see the play on the pitch indicate that the team doesn’t believe that either.
