Hamburger – Borussia Dortmund: Set-Pieces Cancel Out after Open Play Struggles (1-1)

A match with limited chances from open play was decided by set-pieces after two well-taken finishes from both sides. Borussia Dortmund attempted to cause problems by creating structural advantages, Hamburger picked their moments to defend aggressively, and both teams did enough to earn a draw.

Tactical analysis and match report by Fahd Ahmed.

In their first Bundesliga season since 2017-18, Hamburger have done well in the opening months to record points on the board. The highlight victory among them was a 4-0 thrashing of Mainz, who finished in sixth place and qualified for the Europa Conference League. Borussia Dortmund have also had a positive start to the campaign, with the only domestic defeat coming against the reigning champions Bayern Munich.

Merlin Polzin made three changes to the side that he fielded in the 4-1 defeat to Köln last weekend. In defense, Daniel Elfadli was benched for Jordan Torunarigha, whilst Nicolás Capaldo, a center-back, filled in for the red-carded Fábio Vieira, a central midfielder. This meant that Nicolai Remberg played as one of the pivots instead of in a wide center-back role. Lastly, leading the line was former RB Leipzig striker Yussuf Poulsen instead of Ransford Yeboah Königsdörffer.

Since Dortmund had to play a midweek Champions League game against Manchester City, changes were expected from Niko Kovač’s end, which was the case. In defense, Emre Can made his first appearance of the season by replacing Ramy Bensebaini. A new pivot pair of Jobe . . .