On Saturday evening Borussia Dortmund won their fifth title and their second in successive seasons.
With goals from Ivan Perisic and Shinji Kagawa put the home team towards victory with strikes in each half. It was a match which they controlled from start to finish and with this intention it was made for a fitting comeback of midfielder Mario Gotze after four months out with injury.
The match started as expected with a furious pace to it with both teams pushing each other up the pitch to stop them building momentum. These tactics were successful as either team couldn’t keep hold of the ball with many commonplace passes. This however inevitably changed the tempo with the host preferring an attacking mentality. They broke forward with precision and accuracy with Robert Lewandowski coming closest in breaking the deadlock, with a fierce shot that skidded just wide.
As pressure was building from the home side another chance went begging as Kagawa scuffed a shot which bounced off the post. However with the entire patient build up from Dortmund when they did go ahead it was from a set piece. Marcel Schmelzer’s free kick was met by Perisic from eight yards out and the Croatian nodded home.
On rare occasions when Gladbach did come forward they didn’t make it much beyond Dortmunds midfield. The visitors couldn’t make much attacking force going forward as Dortmund managed precise offside tactics. Goalkeeper Ter Stegen kept Gladbach in the tie with a reaction save from Matt Hummel’s close range flick. That was the last of the action from the first half.
When the second half started it was much as the same as the first, with the hosts dominating possession and the visitors doing the chasing. However with a pin point counter attack from Gladbach they nearly equalised, when Marco Reus plucked the ball out the air and flicked it over Schmelzer before rounding Roman Weidenfeller, sadly Reus’ touch was far too heavy and the keeper got back in time to make a block.
However if this begging chance was taken by Reus the game might have taken a turn. But despite this it was Dortmund’s attacking mentality and they scored. Lewandowski fed in Kagawa whose touch took him past Ter Stegen and the Japanese coolly placed the ball in the net. Minutes later The Yellow-Blacks nearly scored a third with a carbon copy of their first, but this time goalkeeper Stegen was there to block it, with another excellent save.
Gotze who came back from injury had not played since December and got a rapturous round of applause and immediately looked at home on the pitch. With Dortmund winning they went down a few gears as they weren’t troubled and as the final whistle went it sparked celebration’s from the home fans for securing their second successive Bundesliga Title.
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